Danielsraptor phorusrhacoides was a long legged predatory bird on the stem leading toward modern falcons. It belonged to Masillaraptoridae, an extinct early Cenozoic group whose members combined raptorial features with proportions unlike living falcons.

Its feet and overall skeleton indicate active predation, probably on small vertebrates and large invertebrates. The relatively long legs suggest much of its hunting may have taken place on or close to the ground rather than through the highly specialised aerial pursuit seen in many living falcons. That ecological reconstruction is based on functional anatomy rather than direct stomach contents.