Gruppen med måkefugler har fått dette navnet fordi fuglene av utsende ligner mye på måker, men de varierer allikevel ganske mye, både i størrelse, fjærdrakt, anatomi og atferd. Allikevel finner man også mange likheter innenfor akkurat dette. Siden det er fem familier så er heller ikke slektskapet spesielt nært mellom artene, som videre kan være inndelt i både underfamilier og slekter. Mange arter består dessuten som flere underarter, hvorav mange kan være uavklarte. Disse kan videre vise seg ikke å kvalifisere som en selvstendig underart, eller til og med vise seg å være en selvstendig art.
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^Syvertsen, P. O., Ree, V., Hansen, O. B., Syvertsen, Ø., Bergan, M., Kvam, H., Viker, M. & Axelsen, T. 2008. Virksomheten til Norsk navnekomité for fugl (NNKF) 1990-2008. Norske navn på verdens fugler. Norsk Ornitologisk Forening. www.birdlife.no (publisert 22.5.2008). Besøkt 2016-04-10
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