(from the article `falconiform`) ...Epoch. The oldest raptorial bird (Lithornis) known is from the late Paleocene Epoch (57.9 to 54.8 million years ago) and may have been a New World ... ...and most living families of birds were in existence by the end of the Eocene period. One of the most interesting finds from this period was ... T... Found on http://www.britannica.com/eb/a-z/c/37