Columbimorphae is a

clade A clade (), also known as a monophyletic group or natural group, is a group of organisms that are monophyletic – that is, composed of a common ancestor and all its lineal descendants – on a phylogenetic tree. Rather than the English term, ...

discovered by genome analysis that includes birds of the orders Columbiformes (pigeons and doves), Pterocliformes (sandgrouse), and Mesitornithiformes (mesites). Previous analyses had also recovered this grouping, although the exact relationships differed. Some studies indicated a sister relationship between sandgrouse and pigeons (the traditional view) while other studies favored a sister grouping of mesites and sandgrouse instead.

References

Neognathae {{bird-stub