[1] These birds were previously classified as members of Coraciiformes.

[2][3][4] The clade is distributed in Africa, Asia, Europe and Melanesia.

[6] They are thought to represent an early African lineage, while the rest of Bucerotiformes evolved in Asia.

The two wood hoopoe genera, Phoeniculus and Rhinopomastus, appear to have diverged about 10 million years ago, so some systematists treat them as separate subfamilies or even separate families.

[7] Extinct Messelirrisoridae and Laurillardiidae families were both considered to be stem groups of a previously categorized Upupiformes order prior to it being subcategorized into Bucerotiformes.