Passerine

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Passerine

A passerine is a bird

Bird

Birds are wing, Bipedalismal, endothermic , vertebrate animals that lay egg . There are around 10,000 living species, making them the most numerous tetrapod vertebrates....
of the order

Order (biology)

In Biological classification used in biology, the order is a taxonomic rank between class and family . The superorder is a rank between class and order....
Passeriformes, which includes more than half of all bird species. Sometimes known as perching birds or, less accurately, as songbird

Songbird

Vertebrate

Vertebrates are members of the subphylum Vertebrata, chordates with Vertebras or Vertebral columns. The grouping sometimes includes the hagfish, which have no vertebrae, but are genetically quite closely related to lampreys, which do have vertebrae....
orders:

it is roughly twice as diverse as the largest of the mammal

Mammal

Mammals are a class of vertebrate animals whose name is derived from their distinctive feature, mammary glands, with which they feed their young....
orders, the Rodent

Rodent

Rodentia is an Order of mammals also known as rodents, characterised by two continuously growing Incisors#The_Rodent_incisor in the upper and lower jaws which must be kept short by gnawing....
ia.

The names "passerines" and "Passeriformes" are derived from Passer domesticus, the scientific name of the type species

Type species

In taxonomy, a type species is the species that originally defined a genus . It is an individual specimen that fixes the name of a genus . Two different definitions are used interchangeably, in a general term and a botanical term....
– the House Sparrow

House Sparrow

The House Sparrow is a member of the Old World sparrow family sparrow, considered by some to be a relative of the Weaver Finch Family. It occurs naturally in most of Europe and much of Asia....
– and ultimately from the Latin

Latin

Latin is an Italic language, historically spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. Through the Military history of the Roman Empire, Latin spread throughout the Mediterranean and a large part of Europe....
term passer for true sparrow

Passer

File:Passer melanurus .jpgPasser is a genus of Old World sparrows. Most of its members are found naturally in open habitats in the warmer climates of Africa and southern Eurasia....
s and similar small birds.

passerines are songbirds and have complex muscles to control their syrinx

Syrinx (biology)

Syrinx is the name for the vocal organ of birds. Located at the base of a bird's Vertebrate trachea, it produces sounds without the vocal cords of mammals....
; many gape in the nest as infants

Altricial

Altricial, meaning "requiring nourishment", refers to a pattern of growth and development in organisms which are incapable of moving around on their own soon after hatching or being born....
to beg for food.

The order is divided into three suborders, Tyranni

Tyranni

The suborder of passerine birds Tyranni includes about 1,000 species, the large majority of which are South American.These have a different anatomy of the syrinx musculature than the songbirds in the suborder Passeri, the oscine passerines....
(suboscines), Passeri (oscines), and the basal Acanthisitti.

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Encyclopedia

A passerine is a bird

Bird

Birds are wing, Bipedalismal, endothermic , vertebrate animals that lay egg . There are around 10,000 living species, making them the most numerous tetrapod vertebrates....
of the order

Order (biology)

Songbird

Vertebrate

Mammal

Mammals are a class of vertebrate animals whose name is derived from their distinctive feature, mammary glands, with which they feed their young....
orders, the Rodent

Rodent

Type species

House Sparrow

Latin

Passer

Characteristics

Many passerines are songbirds and have complex muscles to control their syrinx

Syrinx (biology)

Syrinx is the name for the vocal organ of birds. Located at the base of a bird's Vertebrate trachea, it produces sounds without the vocal cords of mammals....
; many gape in the nest as infants

Altricial

Tyranni

Syrinx (biology)

Syrinx is the name for the vocal organ of birds. Located at the base of a bird's Vertebrate trachea, it produces sounds without the vocal cords of mammals....
muscles among birds, producing a wide range of songs

Bird song

Bird vocalization includes both bird calls and bird songs. In non-technical use, bird songs are the bird sounds that are melodious to the human ear....
and other vocalizations (though some of them, such as the crow

Crow

The true crows are large passerine birds that form the genus Corvus in the family Corvidae. Ranging in size from the relatively small dove-sized jackdaws to the Common Raven of the Holarctic region and Thick-billed Raven of the highlands of Ethiopia, the 40 or so members of this genus occur on all temperate continents and several offsh...
s, do not sound musical to human beings); some such as the Lyrebird

Lyrebird

A Lyrebird is either of two species of ground-dwelling Australian birds, most notable for their superb ability to mimicry natural and artificial sounds from their environment....
are accomplished imitators. The Acanthisittids or Nez Zealand wrens are tiny birds restricted to New Zealand

New Zealand

New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses , and numerous Islands of New Zealand, most notably Stewart Island/Rakiura and the Chatham Islands....
, at least in modern times; They were long placed in Passeri; their taxonomic position is uncertain, though they seem to be a distinct and very ancient group.

Most passerines are smaller than typical members of other avian orders. The heaviest and altogether largest passerine is the Thick-billed Raven

Thick-billed Raven

The Thick-billed Raven , a Corvidae from the Horn of Africa, shares with the Common Raven the distinction of being the largest in the family and indeed the largest of the bird order Passeriformes ....
; some Common Raven

Common Raven

The Common Raven , also known as the Northern Raven, is a large all-black passerine bird in the Corvidae. Found across the northern hemisphere, it is the most widely distributed of all Corvidae....
s come close in terms of size, and lyrebirds and many birds of paradise are longer overall. Some of the smallest passerines are the Pygmy-tyrants.

The foot of a passerine has three toes directed forward and one toe directed backwards, called anisodactyl arrangement. The toes have no webbing or joining, but in some cotingas the second and third toes are united an their basal third. The hind toe joins the leg at the same level as the front toes. In other orders of birds the toe arrangement is different.

Most passerines lay coloured eggs, in contrast with non-passerines, whose eggs are white except in some ground-nesting groups such as Charadriiformes

Charadriiformes

Charadriiformes is a diverse order of small to medium-large birds. It includes about 350 species and has members in all parts of the world. Most Charadriiformes live near water and eat invertebrates or other small animals; however, some are pelagic , some occupy deserts and a few are found in thick forest....
and nightjar

Nightjar

Nightjars are medium-sized nocturnal or crepuscular birds with long wings, short legs and very short bills. They are sometimes referred to as goatsuckers from the mistaken belief that they suck milk from goats ....
s, where camouflage is necessary, and some parasitic

Brood parasite

Brood parasites are organisms that use the strategy of brood-parasitism, a kind of kleptoparasitism found among birds, fish or insects, involving the manipulation and use of host individuals either of the same or different species to raise the young of the brood-parasite....
cuckoo

Cuckoo

The cuckoos are a family, Cuculidae, of near passerine birds. The order Cuculiformes, in addition to the cuckoos, also includes the turacos ....
s, which match the passerine host's egg.

Origin and evolution

The evolutionary history of and relationships among the passerine families remained rather mysterious until around the end of the 20th century. Many passerine families were grouped together on the basis of morphological similarities that, it is now believed, are the result of convergent evolution

Convergent evolution

Convergent evolution describes the acquisition of the same biological trait in unrelated lineages.The wing is a classic example of convergent evolution in action....
, not a close genetic relationship. For example, the "wrens" of the northern hemisphere, those of Australia

Australia

Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the southern hemisphere comprising the Australia of the world's smallest continent, the major island of Tasmania, and numerous list of islands of Australia in the Indian Ocean and Pacific Oceans....
, and those of New Zealand

New Zealand

New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses , and numerous Islands of New Zealand, most notably Stewart Island/Rakiura and the Chatham Islands....
look very similar and behave in similar ways, and yet belong to three far-flung branches of the passerine family tree; they are as unrelated as it is possible to be while remaining Passeriformes.

Much research remains to be done, but advances in molecular biology

Molecular biology

Molecular biology is the study of biology at a molecule level. The field overlaps with other areas of biology and chemistry, particularly genetics and biochemistry....
and improved paleobiogeographical data are gradually revealing a clearer picture of passerine origins and evolution. It is now thought that the first passerines evolved in Gondwana

Gondwana

Gondwana , originally Gondwanaland is the name given to a southern precursor-supercontinent and then as a remnant separated from Laurasia 180- during the breakup of the Pangaea supercontinent that existed about 500 to 200 Annum ago into two large segments. at some time in the Paleogene

Paleogene

The Paleogene is a geologic period that began 65.5 ? 0.3 and ended 23.03 ? 0.05 million years ago and comprises the first part of the Cenozoic era....
, maybe around the Late Paleocene some 60–55 million years ago (mya). The initial split was between the Tyranni

Tyranni

Songbird

A songbird or oscine is a bird belonging to the suborder Passeri of Passerine , in which the syrinx is developed in such a way as to produce various sound notes, commonly known as bird song....
s, the Eurylaimides and the New Zealand "wrens", which must have diverged during a short period of time (some million years at most). The Passeriformes apparently evolved out of a fairly close-knit clade

Clade

A clade is a term used in modern alpha taxonomy, the scientific classification of living and fossil organisms, to describe a monophyletic group, defined as a group consisting of a single common ancestor and all its descendants.The term "monophyletic group" is used in this article in the conventional sense of "an a...
of "near passerine

Near passerine

Near passerine or higher land-bird assemblage are terms often given to arboreal birds or those most often believed to be related to the true passerines due to ecological similarities; the group corresponds to some extent with the Anomalogonatae of Garrod ....
s" which contains such birds as the Piciformes

Piciformes

Six family of largely arboreal birds make up the Order Piciformes, the best-known of them being the Picidae, which includes the woodpeckers and close relatives....
and Coraciiformes

Coraciiformes

The Coraciiformes are a group of usually colourful near passerine birds including the kingfishers, the Hoopoe, the bee-eaters, the rollers, and the hornbills....
.

A little later, a great radiation of forms took place out of Australia-New Guinea: the Passeri or songbirds. A major branch of the Passeri, "Parvorder Passerida

Passerida

Passerida is under the Sibley-Ahlquist taxonomy, one of two "parvorders" contained within the suborder Passeri . While more recent research suggests that its sister parvorder, Corvida, is not a monophyletic grouping, the existence of Passerida as a distinct clade is well accepted....
", emerged either as the sister group to the basal lineages and corvoids ("Parvorder Corvida

Corvida

The "Corvida" were one of two "parvorders" contained within the suborder Passeri, as proposed in the Sibley-Ahlquist taxonomy. Standard taxonomic practice would place them at the rank of infraorder....
"), or more likely as a subgroup of it, and expanded deep into Eurasia

Eurasia

Africa

Africa is the world's second-largest and second most-populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km? including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area....
, where there was a further explosive radiation of new lineages. This eventually led to three major passeridan lineages comprising about 4,000 species, which in addition to the corvoidan clade and numerous minor lineages make up songbird diversity today. There has been extensive biogeographical mixing, with northern forms returning to the south, southern forms moving north, and so on.

Fossil record

Earliest passerines
Perching bird osteology

Osteology

Osteology is the science of bone. A subdiscipline of anthropology and archeology, osteology is a detailed study of the structure of bones, skeletal elements, teeth, morphology , function, disease, pathology, the process of ossification , the resistance and hardness of bones , etc....
, especially of the limb bones, is rather diagnostic. However, the early fossil record is poor because the first Passeriformes were apparently on the small side of the present size range, and their delicate bones did not preserve well. QM

Queensland Museum

The Queensland Museum is a museum at South Bank, Queensland in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. The museum is funded by the State Government of Queensland....
specimens F20688 (carpometacarpus

Carpometacarpus

The carpometacarpus is the fusion of digits that forms the wing in birds.Sourceshttp://dictionary.reference.com/browse/carpometacarpus?r=14...
) and F24685 (tibiotarsus

Tibiotarsus

The tibiotarsus is the large bone between the femur and the tarsometatarsus in the leg of a bird. It is the fusion of the proximal part of the tarsus with the tibia....
) from Murgon, Queensland

Murgon, Queensland

Murgon is a town in Queensland, Australia. It is situated on the Bunya Highway 270 kilometres north-west of the state capital, Brisbane.Murgon is in the region of Queensland known as the South Burnett, the southern part of the Burnett River drainage basin....
are fossil bone fragments clearly recognizable as passeriform; they represent two species of approximately some 10 and some 20 cm in overall length and prove that some 55 mya, barely into the Early Eocene, early perching birds were recognizably distinct. A quite similar group, the Zygodactylidae (named for their zygodactylous

Dactyly

In biology, dactyly is the arrangement of wikt:digit on the hands, Foot, or sometimes wings of a tetrapod animal. It comes from the Greek word da?t???? = "finger"....
approach to perching) independently arose at much the same time – and possibly from closely related ancestors – in the landmasses bordering the North Atlantic, which at that time was only some two-thirds of its present width.

Until the discovery of the Australian fossils, it was believed for some time that Palaeospiza bella from the Priabonian

Priabonian

The Priabonian is the final faunal stage of the Eocene epoch . It spans the time between 37.2 ? 0.1 annum and 33.9 ? 0.1 Ma ....
Florissant Fossil Beds (Late Eocene, around 35 mya) was the oldest known passeriform. However, it is now considered a non-passeriform near passerine

Near passerine

Manuherikia River

The Manuherikia River is located in Otago in the South Island of New Zealand. It rises in the far north of the Maniototo, flowing southwest for 85 kilometres before its confluence with the Clutha River at Alexandra, New Zealand....
in Otago

Otago

Otago is a regions of New Zealand in the south of the South Island. It has an area of approximately making it the country's second largest region....
, New Zealand

New Zealand

Tarsometatarsus

The tarsometatarsus is a bone that is found in the lower leg of certain tetrapods, namely birds.It is formed from the fusion of several bones found in other types of animals, and homologous to the mammalian Tarsus and metatarsus bones....
of a Tui

Tui (bird)

The Tui is an endemic passerine bird of New Zealand. It is one of the largest members of the diverse honeyeater family.The name Tui is from the Maori language name tui and is the species' formal common name....
-sized bird) and several bones of at least one species of Saddleback-sized bird have recently been described. These date from the Early to Middle Miocene

Middle Miocene

The Middle Miocene is a sub-epoch of the Miocene epoch made up of two faunal stage: the Langhian and Serravallian stages. The Middle Miocene is followed by the Early Miocene....
(Awamoan to Lillburnian, 19-16 million years ago).

Modern knowledge about the living passerines' interrelationships (see the list of families below) suggests that the last common ancestor of all living Passeriformes was a small forest bird, probably with a stubby tail and an overall drab coloration, but possibly with marked sexual dimorphism

Sexual dimorphism

Sexual dimorphism is the systematic difference in form between individuals of different sex in the same species. Examples include color , size, and the presence or absence of parts of the body used in courtship displays or fights, such as ornamental feathers, horns, antlers or tusks....
. The latter trait seems to have been lost and re-evolved multiple times in songbird evolution alone, judging from its distribution among the extant lineages: the common ancestor of Passerida for example was almost certainly not markedly dimorphic considering the trait is very rare among the basal lineages of these, but very common among the youngest passerid clade, the Passeroidea; on the other hand among the basalmost Passeri there are a considerable number of strongly dimorphic lineages such as the very ancient Menuridae as well as many Meliphagoidea

Meliphagoidea

Meliphagoidea is a superfamily of passerine birds. They contain a vast diversity of small to mid-sized songbirds widespread in the Austropacific region....
and Corvoidea. Sexual dimorphism is also not uncommon in the Acanthisittidae and prominent in some suboscines such as the Pipridae and Cotingidae.

Early European passerines
In Europe, perching birds are not too uncommon in the fossil record from the Oligocene

Oligocene

The Oligocene is a geologic epoch of the Paleogene Geologic Timescale and extends from about 33.9 million to 23 million years before the present....
onwards, but most are too fragmentary for a more definite placement:

Wieslochia (Early Oligocene of Frauenweiler, Germany)
Passeriformes gen. et sp. indet. (Early Oligocene of Luberon, France) – suboscine or basal
Passeriformes gen. et spp. indet. (Late Oligocene of France) – several suboscine and oscine taxa
Passeriformes gen. et spp. indet. (Middle Miocene of France and Germany) – basal?
Passeriformes gen. et spp. indet. (Sajóvölgyi Middle Miocene of Mátraszõlõs, Hungary) – at least 2 taxa, possibly 3; at least one probably Oscines

Wieslochia was possibly not a member of any extant suborder. That not only the Passeri expanded much beyond their region of origin is proven by an undetermined broadbill

Broadbill

The broadbills are a family of small passerine birds. The Smithornis and Pseudocalyptomena species occur in tropical Africa; the rest extend from the eastern Himalayas to Sumatra and Borneo....
(Eurylaimidae) from the Early Miocene

Miocene

The Miocene is a Geologic time scale of the Neogene period and extends from about 23.03 to 5.33 million years before the present. As with other older geologic periods, the rock beds that define the start and end are well identified but the exact dates of the start and end of the period are uncertain....
(roughly 20 mya) of Wintershof, Germany, and the indeterminate Late Oligocene suboscine from France listed above. Even very basal Passeriformes might have been common in Europe until the Middle Miocene, some 12 mya. Extant Passeri superfamilies were quite distinct by that time and are known since about 12–13 mya when modern genera were present in the corvoidean and basal songbirds. The modern diversity of Passerida genera is known mostly from the Late Miocene onwards and into the Pliocene

Pliocene

The Pliocene epoch is the period in the geologic timescale that extends from 5.332 million to 1.806 million years before present.The Pliocene is the second epoch of the Neogene period in the Cenozoic era....
(about 10–2 mya). Pleistocene

Pleistocene

The Pleistocene is the epoch from 1.8 million to 10,000 years Before Present covering the world's recent period of repeated glaciations. The name pleistocene is derived from the Greek and ....
and early Holocene

Holocene

The Holocene is a geological Epoch which began approximately 11,700 years ago . According to traditional geological thinking, the Holocene continues to the present....
lagerstätten (<1.8 mya) yield numerous extant species, and many yield almost nothing but extant species or their chronospecies

Chronospecies

A chronospecies is a species which changes physically, Comparative anatomy, Genetics, and/or behavior over time on an evolutionary scale such that the originating species and the species it becomes could not be classified as the same species had they existed at the same point in time....
and paleosubspecies.

American fossils
In the Americas

Americas

The Americas are the region of the Western hemisphere that consists of the continents of North America and South America with their associated islands and regions....
, the fossil record is more scant before the Pleistocene, from which several still-existing suboscine families are documented. Apart from the indeterminable MACN-SC-1411 (Pinturas Early/Middle Miocene of Santa Cruz Province, Argentina), an extinct lineage of perching birds has been described from the Late Miocene of California, USA: the Palaeoscinidae with the single genus Paleoscinis. "Palaeostruthus" eurius (Pliocene of Florida) probably belongs to an extant family, most likely passeroidean.

See also Late Quaternary prehistoric birds
Late Quaternary prehistoric birds

Prehistoric birds are various taxon of birds that became extinct before recorded history, or more precisely, before they could be studied alive by ornithologys....
.

Systematics and taxonomy

Initially, the Corvida and Passerida were classified as "parvorders" in the suborder Passeri; in accord with the usual taxonomic practice, they would probably be ranked as infraorders. As originally envisioned in the Sibley-Ahlquist taxonomy

Sibley-Ahlquist taxonomy

The Sibley-Ahlquist taxonomy is a radical bird taxonomy proposed by Charles Sibley and Jon Edward Ahlquist. It is based on DNA-DNA hybridization studies conducted in the late 1970s and throughout the 1980s....
, they contained, respectively, the large superfamilies Corvoidea and Meliphagoidea as well as minor lineages, and the superfamilies Sylvioidea, Muscicapoidea and Passeroidea.

This arrangement has been found to be overly simplified by more recent research. Since the mid 2000s, literally dozens of studies are being published which try rather successfully to resolve the phylogeny of the passeriform radiation. For example, the Corvida in the traditional sense were a rather arbitrary assemblage of early and/or minor lineages of passeriform birds of Old World origin, generally from the region of Australia

Australia

New Zealand

Wallacea

Wallacea is a biogeography designation for a group of Indonesian islands separated by deep water straits from the Asian and Australia continental shelf....
. The Passeri on the other hand can be made monophyletic by moving some families about, but the "clean" three-superfamily-arrangement has turned out to be far more complex and it is uncertain whether future authors will stick to it.

Major "wastebin

Wastebin taxon

Wastebasket taxon is a term used in Alpha taxonomy circles to refer to a taxon that has the sole purpose of classifying organisms that do not fit anywhere else....
" families such as the Old World warbler

Old World warbler

The "Old World Warblers", family Sylviidae are a family of small passerine bird species; the names sylviid warblers or true warblers may be more appropriate....
s and Old World babbler

Old World babbler

The Old World babblers or timaliids are a large family of mostly Old World passerine birds. They are rather diverse in size and coloration, but are characterised by soft fluffy plumage....
s have turned out to be paraphyletic and are being rearranged. Several taxa turned out to represent highly distinct species-poor lineages and consequently new families had to be established, some of them – like the Stitchbird

Stitchbird

The Stitchbird or Hihi is a rare honeyeater-like bird endemic to the North Island and adjacent offshore islands of New Zealand. It became local extinction everywhere except Little Barrier Island but has been reintroduced to three other island sanctuaries and two locations on the North Island mainland....
of New Zealand

New Zealand

Eurasia

Monotypic

In biology, a monotype is a alpha taxonomy group with only one biological type:In botany, a monotype is a taxon that has only one species: Ginkgo is a monotypic genus, while Ginkgoaceae is a monotypic family ....
with only one living species.. It seems likely that in the Passeri alone, a number of minor lineages will eventually be recognized as distinct superfamilies. For example, the kinglet

Kinglet

The kinglets or crests are a small group of birds sometimes included in the Old World warblers, but are frequently given family status because they also resemble the titmouse....
s constitute a single genus with less than 10 species today, but seem to have been among the first perching bird lineages to diverge as the group spread across Eurasia

Eurasia

Eurasia is a large landmass covering about 53,990,000 km? or about 10.6% of the Earth's surface . Often considered a single continent, Eurasia comprises the traditional continents of Europe and Asia, concepts which date back to classical antiquity and the borders for which are somewhat arbitrary....
. No particularly close relatives of them have been found among comprehensive studies of the living Passeri, though it is suspected that they might be fairly close to some little-studied tropical Asian groups. Treatment of the nuthatch

Nuthatch

The nuthatches are a genus, Sitta, of small passerine birds belonging to the family Sittidae. Characterised by large heads, short tails, and powerful bills and feet, nuthatches advertise their territory using loud, simple songs....
es, wren

Wren

The wrens are passerine birds in the mainly New World family Troglodytidae. There are about 80 species of true wrens in about 20 genus, though the name is also ascribed to other unrelated birds throughout the world....
s, and their closest relatives as a distinct subfamily Certioidea is increasingly considered justified; the same might eventually apply to the titmice and their closest relatives.

This process is still continuing. Therefore, the arrangement as presented here is subject to change. However, it should take precedence over unreferenced conflicting treatments in family, genus and species articles here; see the next section for default sources.

Taxonomic list of Passeriformes families

This list is in taxonomic order, placing related species/groups next to each other. The Passerida subdivisions are updated as needed from the default sequence of the Handbook of the Birds of the World
Handbook of the Birds of the World

The Handbook of the Birds of the World is a multi-volume series produced by the Spain publishing house Lynx Edicions. It is the first handbook to cover every living species of bird....
, based on the most modern and comprehensive studies. Updates are added as necessary.

Regarding arrangement of families

The families are sorted into a somewhat unusual sequence. This is because so many reallocations have taken place since about 2005 that a definite arrangement has not been established yet. The present sequence is an attempt to preserve as much of the traditional sequence while giving priority to adequately addressing the relationships between the families.

Suborder Acanthisitti

Acanthisittidae: New Zealand "wrens"

Suborder Tyranni
Tyranni

The suborder of passerine birds Tyranni includes about 1,000 species, the large majority of which are South American.These have a different anatomy of the syrinx musculature than the songbirds in the suborder Passeri, the oscine passerines....

Suboscines

Infraorder Eurylaimides – Old World suboscines (or Broad-billed suboscines). Probably a separate suborder.

Superfamily Eurylaimoidea – broadbills and allies

Eurylaimidae: broadbills
Philepittidae: asities
Sapayoidae: Broad-billed Sapayoa

Superfamily Pittoidea

Pittidae: pittas

Infraorder Tyrannides - New World suboscines

Superfamily N.N. – "bronchophones"

Tyrannidae: tyrant flycatchers
Tityridae
Tityridae

Tityridae is family of suboscine passerine birds found in forest and woodland in the Neotropics. The approximately 30 species in this family were formerly spread over the families Tyrannidae, Pipridae and Cotingidae ....
: tityras and allies.
Cotingidae: cotingas
Pipridae: manakins

Superfamily Furnarioidea - tracheophones

Furnariidae: ovenbirds and woodcreepers
Thamnophilidae: antbirds
Formicariidae
Formicariidae

The Formicariidae, formicariids, or ground antbirds are a Family of smallish passerine birds of subtropical and tropical Central America and South America....
: antpittas, antthrushes and typical tapaculos. Possibly polyphyletic.
Conopophagidae: gnateaters and gnatpittas
N.N.: atypical "tapaculo
Tapaculo

The tapaculos are a group of small suboscine Passeriformes birds with numerous species, found mainly in South America and with the highest diversity in the Andean regions....
s" (crescent-chests and allies)

Suborder Passeri

Songbirds or oscines

Basal Passeri – the most ancient true songbirds, endemic to Australia. Sometimes considered a superfamily "Menuroidea".

Menuridae: lyrebirds
Atrichornithidae: scrub-birds

Superfamily Meliphagoidea
Meliphagoidea

Meliphagoidea is a superfamily of passerine birds. They contain a vast diversity of small to mid-sized songbirds widespread in the Austropacific region....
– mainly insectivores and nectarivores, distribution centered on Australo-Melanesian region extending into surroundings, notably the Pacific.

Maluridae
Maluridae

The Maluridae are a family of small, insectivorous passerine birds endemic to Australia and New Guinea. Commonly known as wrens, they are unrelated to the wren of the Northern Hemisphere....
: fairy-wrens, emu-wrens and grasswrens
Dasyornithidae: bristlebirds. Formerly in Acanthizidae.
Acanthizidae
Acanthizidae

The Acanthizidae, also known as the Australasian warblers, are a family of passerine birds which include gerygones, thornbills, and scrubwrens....
: scrubwrens, thornbills, and gerygones
Meliphagidae: honeyeaters
Meliphagoidea incertae sedis

Pardalotidae: pardalotes. Formerly in Acanthizidae, might be included in Meliphagidae.
Acanthorhynchus: spinebills. Usually included in Meliphagidae; might be considered a monotypic
Monotypic

In biology, a monotype is a alpha taxonomy group with only one biological type:In botany, a monotype is a taxon that has only one species: Ginkgo is a monotypic genus, while Ginkgoaceae is a monotypic family ....
family if Pardalotidae are considered valid too.

Superfamily Corvoidea – a highly diverse group of global distribution, but most plentiful in the Australasian region and surroundings. The oldest truly globally successful group of passerines, they include among them what may well be the most intelligent and the most spectacular of the order.
** Melanocharitidae
Melanocharitidae

The Melanocharitidae, the berrypeckers and longbills, is a small bird family restricted to the forests of New Guinea. The family was once placed inside the Flowerpecker family Dicaeidae, and the longbills were once considered to be honeyeaters ....
: berrypeckers and longbills. Tentatively placed here.

Callaeidae
Callaeidae

The small bird family Callaeidae is Endemism to New Zealand. It contains three monotypic genera; of the three species in the family, only two survive and one of them, the Kokako, is an endangered species....
: New Zealand wattlebirds. Tentatively placed here.
Family N.N.: Stitchbird
Stitchbird

The Stitchbird or Hihi is a rare honeyeater-like bird endemic to the North Island and adjacent offshore islands of New Zealand. It became local extinction everywhere except Little Barrier Island but has been reintroduced to three other island sanctuaries and two locations on the North Island mainland....
. Tentatively placed here.
Cnemophilidae
Cnemophilidae

The Satinbirds or Cnemophilines, Cnemophilidae are a group of passerine birds which consists of three species found in the mountain forests of New Guinea....
: satinbirds. Tentatively placed here.
Neosittidae: sittellas
Vireonidae: vireos
Campephagidae: cuckoo-shrikes and trillers
Pachycephalidae
Pachycephalidae

The family Pachycephalidae, collectively the whistlers, includes the whistlers, shrike-thrushes, shrike-tits, pitohuis and Crested Bellbird, and is part of the ancient Australo-Papuan radiation of songbirds....
: whistlers and allies. Delimitation with regards to several proposed families and subfamilies requires thorough study.
Oriolidae: orioles and Figbird
Paramythiidae: Tit Berrypecker and Crested Berrypecker. Formerly in Passerida.
Artamidae
Artamidae

The family Artamidae gathers together 20 species of mostly crow-like birds native to Australasia and nearby areas.There are two subfamilies: Artaminae, the woodswallows, are sombre-coloured, soft-plumaged birds that have a brush-tipped tongue but seldom use it for gathering nectar....
: woodswallows, butcherbirds, currawongs and Australian Magpie
Malaconotidae: puffback shrikes, bush shrikes, tchagras and boubous
Platysteiridae: wattle-eyes. Formerly in Passerida. Probably paraphyletic.
Aegithinidae: ioras
Pityriaseidae: Bornean Bristlehead. Tentatively placed here.
Prionopidae: helmetshrikes and woodshrikes
Vangidae: vangas
Dicruridae: drongos
Monarchidae: monarch flycatchers
Rhipiduridae: fantails
Paradisaeidae: birds of paradise
Corcoracidae
Corcoracidae

The very small and rather unusual passerine family Corcoracidae now contains just two superficially dissimilar species: the White-winged Chough and the Apostlebird....
: White-winged Chough and Apostlebird
Laniidae: shrikes
Corvidae
Corvidae

Corvidae is a Cosmopolitan distribution family of oscine passerine birds that contains the crows, ravens, rook s, jackdaws, jays, magpies, treepies, Pyrrhocorax and nutcracker ....
: crows, ravens and jays
Corvoidea incertae sedis

Vireolanius
Vireolanius

Vireolanius is a genus of bird in the Vireonidae family.It contains the following species:* Yellow-browed Shrike-vireo * Slaty-capped Shrike-vireo ...
: shrike-vireos. Usually included in Vireonidae, possibly a monotypic family,
Erpornis: White-bellied Erpornis. Formerly in Yuhina
Yuhina

Yuhina is a genus of bird in the Timaliidae family.It contains the following species:* Striated Yuhina * Chestnut-crested Yuhina * White-naped Yuhina ...
(Passerida: Timaliidae); possibly a monotypic family, possibly in Vireonidae
Colluricinclidae: shrike-thrushes. Often included in Pachycephalidae but perhaps recognizable as a subfamily at least.
Cinclosomatidae
Cinclosomatidae

The family Cinclosomatidae contains 9 species of passerine bird, including the 3 whipbirds, 2 wedgebills, and the quail-thrushes. All are native to Australia or nearby areas....
: whipbirds and allies. Contains Psophodidae but that might make it paraphyletic. At least some species belong in Pachycephalidae if Falcunculinae are not considered a distinct family.
Falcunculidae: Shrike-tit and allies. Usually included in Pachycephalidae; might be distinct family or merged in Cinclosomatidae or Psophodidae.
"Pitohuidae": pitohui
Pitohui

Pitohui is a genus of birds endemic to New Guinea, belonging to the family Pachycephalidae.Currently six species are classified in the genus, though current molecular genetics research suggests that significant reclassification of the Pachycephalidae may be needed....
s. Usually included in Pachycephalidae but seem closer to Oriolidae and best considered a distinct family including Oreoica and possibly other Pachycephalidae sensu lato.
Melampitta
Melampitta

Melampitta is a genus of New Guinean bird containing two enigmatic species. The taxonomy placement of the genus is a source of long-standing confusion....
: melampittas. Two very puzzling birds of unclear systematics; the monophyly of the genus was long disputed. Maybe a basal offshoot of the Monarchidae, maybe a family of their own.

Passeri (mainly "Corvida
Corvida

The "Corvida" were one of two "parvorders" contained within the suborder Passeri, as proposed in the Sibley-Ahlquist taxonomy. Standard taxonomic practice would place them at the rank of infraorder....
") incertae sedis
Incertae sedis

Incertae sedis , abbreviation "inc. sed.", is a term used to define a taxonomy group where its broader relationships are unknown or undefined....
** Possible superfamily "Ptilonorhynchoidea" – bowerbirds and Australian treecreepers

- Climacteridae: Australian treecreepers
- Turnagridae
  Turnagridae
  
  Turnagridae is a disputed family which consisted of two species of Piopio, passerine birds endemism to New Zealand, both of which are now considered extinct....
  : Piopio (extinct)
- Ptilonorhynchidae: bowerbirds
Possible superfamily N.N. - logrunners and pseudo-babblers

Orthonychidae
Orthonychidae

The Orthonychidae is a family of birds with a single genus, Orthonyx, which comprises three species of passerine birds Endemic to Australia and New Guinea, the Logrunners and the Chowchilla....
: logrunners
Pomatostomidae: pseudo-babblers

Petroicidae
Petroicidae

The bird Family Petroicidae includes roughly 45 species in about 15 genera. All are endemic to Australasia or nearby areas. For want of a more accurate common name, the family is often described as the Australasian robins: it extends beyond Australasia, however, and includes not just robins but the Jacky Winter, the New Zealand Tomtit,...
: Australian robins
Possible superfamily N.N.

Picathartidae: rockfowl.
Chaetopidae: rock-jumpers. Recently split from Turdidae.
Eupetidae: Malaysian Rail-babbler. Recently split from Cinclosomatidae.

Possible monotypic superfamily Reguloidea – kinglets

Regulidae: kinglets

Possible monotypic superfamily N.N.
Family N.N.: Hyliota
Hyliota

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s. Recently split from Sylviidae.
Irenidae: fairy-bluebirds. Reguloidea? Basal to/in Passeroidea?
Chloropseidae: leafbirds. Reguloidea? Basal to/in Passeroidea?

Infraorder Passerida
Passerida

Passerida is under the Sibley-Ahlquist taxonomy, one of two "parvorders" contained within the suborder Passeri . While more recent research suggests that its sister parvorder, Corvida, is not a monophyletic grouping, the existence of Passerida as a distinct clade is well accepted....

Superfamily Sylvioidea – mostly insectivores, distribution centered on the Indo-Pacific
Indo-Pacific

The Indo-Pacific is a biogeography region of the earth's seas, comprising the tropical waters of the Indian Ocean, the western and central Pacific Ocean, and the seas connecting the two in the general area of Indonesia....
region. Few occur in the Australian region and fewer still in the Americas. Usually sleek and drab birds, few have pronounced sexual dimorphism
Sexual dimorphism

Sexual dimorphism is the systematic difference in form between individuals of different sex in the same species. Examples include color , size, and the presence or absence of parts of the body used in courtship displays or fights, such as ornamental feathers, horns, antlers or tusks....
.** Alaudidae: larks

Hirundinidae: swallows and martins
Phylloscopidae
Phylloscopidae

Phylloscopidae is a newly described family of small insectivorous birds formerly placed in the Old World warbler family . Its members occur in Eurasia, ranging into Wallacea and Africa ....
: leaf-warblers and allies. Recently split from Sylviidae.
Aegithalidae: long-tailed tits or bushtits
Cettiidae
Cettiidae

Cettiidae is a newly validated family of small insectivorous songbirds , formerly placed in the Old World warbler "wastebin taxon" assemblage. It contains the typical bush-warblers and their relatives....
: ground-warblers and allies. Recently split from Sylviidae.
Megaluridae
Megaluridae

Megaluridae is a newly recognized family of small insectivorous songbirds , formerly placed in the Old World warbler "wastebin taxon" family . It contains the grass-warblers, grassbirds, and the Bradypterus "bush-warblers"....
: grass-warblers and allies. Recently split from Sylviidae.
"Bernieridae": Malagasy warbler
Malagasy warbler

The Malagasy warblers are a newly validated clade of songbirds. They have not been formally named, although the name "Bernieriidae" has been informally used ; accordingly, it must not be used without quotation marks or in any other way implying that it is a valid zoological nomenclature....
s. A newly assembled family.
Acrocephalidae
Acrocephalidae

Acrocephalidae is a family of oscine passerine birds, in the superfamily Sylvioidea.The species in this family are usually rather large "warblers"....
: marsh- and tree-warblers. Recently split from Sylviidae.
Pycnonotidae: bulbuls
Cisticolidae
Cisticolidae

The Cisticolidae family of small passerine birds is a group of about 110 warblers found mainly in warmer southern regions of the Old World. They are often included within the Old World warbler family Sylviidae....
: cisticolas and allies
Sylviidae: "true/sylviid warblers" and parrotbills. Might be merged in Timaliidae. Monophyly needs confirmation.
Zosteropidae: white-eyes. Probably belongs in Timaliidae.
Timaliidae: (Old World) babblers. Monophyly needs confirmation.

Sylvioidea incertae sedis

"African warblers": A proposed clade, but monophyly needs confirmation. Formerly in Sylviidae.
Donacobius: Black-capped Donacobius. Monotypic
Monotypic

In biology, a monotype is a alpha taxonomy group with only one biological type:In botany, a monotype is a taxon that has only one species: Ginkgo is a monotypic genus, while Ginkgoaceae is a monotypic family ....
family? Tentatively placed here; possibly closest to Megaluridae. Formerly in Troglodytidae and Mimidae.
Nicator
Nicator

Nicator is a genus of songbird in the Pycnonotidae family.It contains the following species:* Yellow-spotted Nicator * Eastern Nicator * Yellow-throated Nicator ...
: Relationships unresolved, monotypic family? Tentatively placed here; formerly in Pycnonotidae.

Superfamily Muscicapoidea – mostly insectivores, near-global distribution centered on Old World tropic
Tropic

A tropic can refer to:In geography, either of two Circle of latitude:*Tropic of Cancer, at Degree N*Tropic of Capricorn, at Degree S*Tropics, referring to the tropical regions of the world....
s. One family endemic to Americas. Nearly absent (except introductions) from the Australian region. Usually rather stocky for their size, most are quite dark and dull though Sturnidae are commonly iridescent and/or colorful. Sexual dimorphism often absent, sometimes pronounced.
Cinclidae: dippers
Muscicapidae: Old World flycatchers and chats. Monophyly needs confirmation.
Turdidae: thrushes and allies. Monophyly needs confirmation.
Buphagidae: oxpeckers. Formerly usually included in Sturnidae.
Sturnidae: starlings and possibly Philippine creeper
Philippine creeper

The Philippine creepers or rhabdornises are small perching bird birds. The family is Endemism in birds to the Philippines. The group contains a single genus Rhabdornis with three species....
s. Placement of latter in Muscicapoidea seems good, but inclusion in Sturnidae requires confirmation; possibly distinct family Rhabdornithidae.
Mimidae: mockingbirds and thrashers

Superfamily Certhioidea - wrens and allies. Sometimes included in Muscicapoidea.** Sittidae
Sittidae

Sittidae is a family of small passerine birds which has two subfamilies:*Sittinidae, which contains the single genus nuthatch containing about 24 species of nuthatches, which are found across Eurasia and North America....
: nuthatches
Tichodromadidae: Wallcreeper: Traditionally placed as a subfamily of the nuthatches and more rarely of the treecreepers, no study has been able to verify either placement this far. Thus it is better considered a monotypic family, at least for the time being.
Certhiidae: treecreepers
Salpornithidae: Spotted Creeper. Tentatively placed here; often considered a subfamily of the Certhidae.
Troglodytidae: wrens
Polioptilidae: gnatcatchers

Superfamily Passeroidea – mostly herbivores including many seed-eaters, near-global distribution centered on Palearctic
Palearctic

The Palearctic or Palaearctic is one of the eight ecozones dividing the Earth surface.Physically, the Palearctic is the largest ecozone....
and Americas. Includes the Nine-primaried oscine
Nine-primaried oscine

The nine-primaried oscines are a group of songbird family from the superfamily Passeroidea. It is comprised of the Fringillidae , Emberizidae , Parulidae , Thraupidae , Cardinalidae , Icteridae and the monotypic Peucedramidae ....
s (probably a subclade). A very high proportion of colorful and highly sexually dimorphic forms.
** Passeridae: true sparrows

Prunellidae: accentors
Motacillidae
Motacillidae

The Motacillidae are a family of small passerine birds with medium to long tails. There are around 65 species in 6 genus and they include the wagtails, longclaws and pipits....
: wagtails and pipits
Urocynchramidae: Przewalski's Finch. Recently split from Fringillidae; tentatively placed here.
Estrildidae: estrildid finches (waxbills, munias, etc)
Ploceidae: weavers
Viduidae: indigobirds and whydahs
Nine-primaried oscine
Nine-primaried oscine

The nine-primaried oscines are a group of songbird family from the superfamily Passeroidea. It is comprised of the Fringillidae , Emberizidae , Parulidae , Thraupidae , Cardinalidae , Icteridae and the monotypic Peucedramidae ....
s:
Peucedramidae: Olive Warbler
Fringillidae: true finches and Hawaiian honeycreeper
Hawaiian honeycreeper

Hawaiian honeycreepers are small passerine birds Endemism to Hawaii. Some authorities still categorize this group as a family Drepanididae, but in recent years most authorities consider them a Family , Drepanidinae, of Fringillidae, the finch family....
s. Possibly polyphyletic.
Icteridae: grackles, New World blackbirds, and New World orioles
Parulidae: New World warblers
Thraupidae: tanagers and allies
Cardinalidae: cardinals
Emberizidae
Emberizidae

The Emberizidae are a large family of passerine birds.They are seed-eating birds with a distinctively shaped bill. In Europe, most species are named as Bunting ....
: buntings and American sparrows

Passeroidea incertae sedis

Coerebidae: Bananaquit. Family invalid or not monotypic
Monotypic

In biology, a monotype is a alpha taxonomy group with only one biological type:In botany, a monotype is a taxon that has only one species: Ginkgo is a monotypic genus, while Ginkgoaceae is a monotypic family ....
; reallocation pending.

Passerida incertae sedis - Rather basal Passerida, most of which seem to constitute several small but distinct lineages that could be considered superfamilies. Most occur in Asia, Africa and North America
North America

North America is the northern continent of the Americas, situated in the Earth's northern hemisphere and almost totally in the western hemisphere....
.

Panurus: Bearded Reedling (Bearded "Tit"). Relationships enigmatic. Formerly in "Paradoxornithidae", might be included in Sylvioidea as monotypic family Panuridae or even constitute the smallest passerine superfamily.
Possible superfamily Paroidea – titmice and allies. Might be included in Sylvioidea.*** Paridae: tits, chickadees and titmice

Remizidae: penduline tits. Sometimes included in Paridae.
Stenostiridae
Stenostiridae

Stenostiridae is a family of small passerine birds proposed as a result of recent discoveries in molecular systematics . They are commonly referred to as stenostirid warblers....
: stenostirids ("flycatcher-tits"). A newly assembled family; sometimes included in Paridae.

Possible superfamily Bombycilloidea – waxwings and allies. Included in Muscicapoidea if Sittoidea/Certhioidea are not considered a distinct superfamily.

Bombycillidae: waxwings
Dulidae: Palmchat. Tentatively placed here.
Ptilogonatidae: silky flycatchers. Tentatively placed here.
Hypocoliidae: Hypocolius. Tentatively placed here.
Mohoidae
Mohoidae

Mohoidae is a Family of Hawaiian species of Holocene extinction event Extinction, Nectarivore songbirds in the genera Moho and Kioea ....

Possible superfamily "Dicaeoidea" – sunbirds and flowerpeckers. Might be included in Passeroidea.

Nectariniidae: sunbirds
Dicaeidae: flowerpeckers

Possible monotypic superfamily N.N.

Promeropidae: sugarbirds. Might be included in Passeroidea.

Footnotes

Passerine

Characteristics

Origin and evolution

Fossil record

Systematics and taxonomy

Taxonomic list of Passeriformes families

Regarding arrangement of families

Suborder Acanthisitti

Suborder TyranniTyranniThe suborder of passerine birds Tyranni includes about 1,000 species, the large majority of which are South American.These have a different anatomy of the syrinx musculature than the songbirds in the suborder Passeri, the oscine passerines....

Suborder Passeri

Footnotes

Suborder Tyranni
Tyranni

The suborder of passerine birds Tyranni includes about 1,000 species, the large majority of which are South American.These have a different anatomy of the syrinx musculature than the songbirds in the suborder Passeri, the oscine passerines....