Birds Guide

Passerines
House Sparrow (Passer domesticus)
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia   Phylum: Chordata   Class: Aves   Order: Passeriformes Linnaeus, 1758
Suborders
Tyranni Passeri

A passerine is a bird of the giant order Passeriformes. More than half of all species of bird are passerines. Sometimes known as perching birds or, less accurately, as songbirds, the passerines are one of the most spectacularly successful vertebrate orders: with around 5,400 species, they are roughly twice as diverse as the largest of the mammal orders, the Rodentia.

The group gets its name from the Latin name for the House Sparrow (Passer domesticus).

Contents 1 Characteristics 2 Origin 3 Taxonomy of passerines 4 See also

Characteristics

Many passerines are songbirds and have complex muscles to control their syrinx; many gape in the nest as infants to beg for food.

The order is divided into two suborders, Tyranni, and Passeri (oscines). Oscines have the most control of their syrinx muscles and are true songbirds (though some of them, such as the crows, do not sound like it).

Most passerines are smaller than typical members of other avian orders. The largest passerine is the Thick-billed Raven (although the Lyrebird is longer).

The foot of a passerine has three toes directed forward without any webbing or joining, and one toe directed backward. 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 to non-passerines, where the colour is white except in some ground nesting groups such as Charadriiformes and nightjars, where camouflage is necessary, and some parasitic cuckoos which have to match the passerine host's egg.

Origin

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, not a close genetic relationship. For example, the "wrens" of the northern hemisphere, of Australia, and of New Zealand all 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 yet remaining Passeriformes.

Much research remains to be done, but a series of biochemical studies are gradually revealing a clearer picture of passerine origins and evolution. It is now thought that the early passerines evolved in Gondwana at about the time that the southern supercontinent was breaking up. This led to the Tyranni and, a little later, to a great radiation of forms in Australia-New Guinea (the Passeri or songbirds). A major branch of the passerine tree, the Passerida (or sparrow-like forms), emerged either as the sister group to the basal lineages ("Corvida"), or more likely as a subgroup of it, and reached the northern hemisphere, where there was a further explosive radiation of new species. Since then, there has been extensive mixing, with northern forms returning to the south, southern forms moving north, and so on.

Taxonomy of passerines

This list is in taxonomic order, placing related species/groups next to each other. For missing families.

Note that as of 2006, several studies have appeared which if validated will revolutionize the phylogeny presented here. For example, the Corvida as presented here are as far as anyone can tell a rather arbitrary assemblage of early and minor lineages of passeriform birds of Old World origin.

• ORDER PASSERIFORMES
  • Suborder Tyranni
    • Tyrannidae: tyrant flycatchers
      Pittidae: pittas
      Eurylaimidae: broadbills
      Furnariidae: ovenbirds and woodcreepers
      Thamnophilidae: antbirds
      Formicariidae: antpittas and antthrushes
      Conopophagidae: gnateaters
      Rhinocryptidae: tapaculos
      Cotingidae: cotingas
      Pipridae: manakins
      Philepittidae: asities
      Acanthisittidae: New Zealand wrens
  • Suborder Passeri (Corvida)
    • Menuridae: lyrebirds
      Atrichornithidae: scrub birds
      Climacteridae: Australian treecreepers
      Maluridae: fairy-wrens, emu-wrens and grasswrens
      Meliphagidae: honeyeaters and chats
      Promeropidae: sugarbirds
      Pardalotidae: pardalotes, scrubwrens, thornbills, and gerygones
      Petroicidae: Australian robins
      Orthonychidae: logrunners
      Pomatostomidae: Australasian babblers
      Cinclosomatidae: whipbirds and allies
      Neosittidae: sittellas
      Pachycephalidae: whistlers, shrike-thrushes, pitohuis and allies
      Dicruridae: monarch flycatchers and allies
      Campephagidae: cuckoo shrikes and trillers
      Oriolidae: orioles and Figbird
      Artamidae: wood swallows, butcherbirds, currawongs and Australian Magpie
      Paradisaeidae: birds of paradise
      Corvidae: crows, ravens and jays
      Corcoracidae: White-winged Chough and Apostlebird
      Irenidae: fairy-bluebirds
      Laniidae: shrikes
      Prionopidae: helmetshrikes.
      Malaconotidae: puffback shrikes, bush shrikes, tchagras and boubous
      Vireonidae: vireos
      Vangidae: vangas
      Ptilonorhynchidae: bowerbirds
      Turnagridae: Piopio
      Callaeidae: New Zealand wattlebirds
  • Suborder Passeri (Passerida)
    • Alaudidae: larks
      Chloropseidae: leafbirds
      Aegithinidae: ioras
      Picathartidae: rockfowl
      Bombycillidae: waxwings and allies
      Dulidae: palmchat
      Ptilogonatidae: silky flycatchers
      Cinclidae: dippers
      Motacillidae: wagtails and pipits
      Prunellidae: accentor
      Melanocharitidae: berrypeckers and longbills
      Paramythiidae: tit berrypecker and crested berrypeckers
      Passeridae: true sparrows
      Urocynchramidae: Przewalski's Finch
      Estrildidae: estrildid finches (waxbills, munias, etc)
      Parulidae: New World warblers
      Thraupidae: tanagers and allies
      Peucedramidae: Olive Warbler
      Fringillidae: true finches
      Cardinalidae: cardinals
      Ploceidae: weavers
      Drepanididae: Hawaiian honeycreepers
      Emberizidae: buntings and American sparrows
      Nectariniidae: sunbirds
      Dicaeidae: flowerpeckers
      Mimidae: mockingbirds and thrashers
      Sittidae: nuthatches
      Certhiidae: treecreepers
      Rhabdornithidae: Philippine creepers
      Troglodytidae: wrens
      Polioptilidae: gnatcatchers
      Paridae: tits, chickadees and titmice
      Aegithalidae: long-tailed tits
      Remizidae: penduline tits
      Hirundinidae: swallows and martins
      Regulidae: kinglets
      Pycnonotidae: bulbuls
      Coerebidae: Bananaquit
      Sylviidae: Old World warblers
      Hypocoliidae: Hypocolius
      Icteridae: grackles, New World blackbirds, and New World orioles
      Cisticolidae: cisticolas and allies
      Zosteropidae: White-eyes
      Paradoxornithidae: Parrotbills
      Timaliidae: babblers
      Muscicapidae: Old World flycatchers and chats
      Platysteiridae: wattle-eyes or puffback flycatchers
      Turdidae: thrushes and allies
      Sturnidae: starlings

See also

• list of birds