order Raptores
- noun
- Archaic
- In 19th-century ornithology, the order Raptores was widely accepted before taxonomists separated owls and falcons.
Examples
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Some older zoological texts group eagles and owls together under the order Raptores.
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The order Raptores is no longer recognized in modern avian classification systems.
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The order Raptores is now considered outdated.
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Did you ever hear about the order Raptores?
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In 19th-century ornithology, the order Raptores was widely accepted before taxonomists separated owls and falcons.
-
Some older zoological texts group eagles and owls together under the order Raptores.
-
The order Raptores is no longer recognized in modern avian classification systems.
Synonyms
An old name for a group of hunting birds like falcons and owls not used today
Surface Forms
Morphology
This phrase is a straightforward noun phrase combining the taxonomic classifier 'order' with the taxon name 'Raptores'; if a learner knows 'order' (a taxonomic grouping) and the meaning of 'Raptores' (a group of birds of prey), the combined meaning is directly derivable. The composition follows a common cross-linguistic pattern (classifier + name) and does not involve metaphorical or idiomatic shift, so it is transparent to learners who know the constituents.
Etymology
Order Raptores comes from the Latin word 'raptor', meaning 'seizer'. Early bird scientists used the name for any 'bird of prey' that grabs animals with strong claws and a sharp beak, so owls and falcons were put together, and later they were split when people saw they were different.
