A passerine () is any

bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class (biology), class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the Oviparity, laying of Eggshell, hard-shelled eggs, a high Metabolism, metabolic rate, a fou ...

of the

order Order, ORDER or Orders may refer to: * A socio-political or established or existing order, e.g. World order, Ancien Regime, Pax Britannica * Categorization, the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated, and understood ...

Passeriformes (; from

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

'sparrow' and '-shaped') which includes more than half of all bird species. Sometimes known as perching birds, passerines generally have an anisodactyl arrangement of their toes (three pointing forward and one back), which facilitates perching. With more than 140 families and some 6,500 identified species, Passeriformes is the largest order of birds and one of the most diverse

clade In biology, a clade (), also known as a Monophyly, monophyletic group or natural group, is a group of organisms that is composed of a common ancestor and all of its descendants. Clades are the fundamental unit of cladistics, a modern approach t ...

s of terrestrial

vertebrate Vertebrates () are animals with a vertebral column (backbone or spine), and a cranium, or skull. The vertebral column surrounds and protects the spinal cord, while the cranium protects the brain. The vertebrates make up the subphylum Vertebra ...

s, representing 60% of birds.Ericson, P.G.P. et al. (2003
Evolution, biogeography, and patterns of diversification in passerine birds
''J. Avian Biol'', 34:3–15.Selvatti, A.P. et al. (2015
"A Paleogene origin for crown passerines and the diversification of the Oscines in the New World"
''Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution'', 88:1–15. Passerines are divided into three

suborder Order () is one of the eight major hierarchical taxonomic ranks in Linnaean taxonomy. It is classified between family and class. In biological classification, the order is a taxonomic rank used in the classification of organisms and recognized ...

s: New Zealand wrens;

Suboscines The Tyranni (suboscines) are a suborder of passerine birds that includes more than 1,000 species, a large majority of which are South American. It is named after the type genus '' Tyrannus''. These have a different anatomy of the syrinx musculat ...

, primarily found in

North North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating Direction (geometry), direction or geography. Etymology T ...

and

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a considerably smaller portion in the Northern Hemisphere. It can also be described as the southern Subregion#Americas, subregion o ...

; and

songbirds A songbird is a bird belonging to the suborder Passeri of the perching birds (Passerine, Passeriformes). Another name that is sometimes seen as the scientific or vernacular name is Oscines, from Latin ''oscen'', "songbird". The Passeriformes co ...

. Passerines originated in the Southern Hemisphere around 60 million years ago. Most passerines are

insectivorous A robber fly eating a hoverfly An insectivore is a carnivorous animal or plant which eats insects. An alternative term is entomophage, which can also refer to the human practice of eating insects. The first vertebrate insectivores we ...

omnivorous An omnivore () is an animal that regularly consumes significant quantities of both plant and animal matter. Obtaining energy and nutrients from plant and animal matter, omnivores digest carbohydrates, protein, fat, and fiber, and metabolize ...

, and eat both insects and fruit or seeds.

Etymology

The terms "passerine" and "Passeriformes" are derived from the

scientific name In Taxonomy (biology), taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, both of which use Latin gramm ...

of the

house sparrow The house sparrow (''Passer domesticus'') is a bird of the Old World sparrow, sparrow family Passeridae, found in most parts of the world. It is a small bird that has a typical length of and a mass of . Females and young birds are coloured pa ...

, ''Passer domesticus'', whose genus is the

word for sparrow. Formerly this meant the songbirds of Europe. Now it also includes perching, non-singing birds from the Americas.

Description

The order is divided into three suborders,

Tyranni The Tyranni (suboscines) are a suborder of passerine birds that includes more than 1,000 species, a large majority of which are South American. It is named after the type genus '' Tyrannus''. These have a different anatomy of the syrinx musculat ...

(non-singing, Americas),

Passeri A songbird is a bird belonging to the suborder Passeri of the perching birds (Passeriformes). Another name that is sometimes seen as the scientific or vernacular name is Oscines, from Latin ''oscen'', "songbird". The Passeriformes contains 5,00 ...

(songbirds), and the basal New Zealand wrens. Oscines have the best control of their

syrinx In classical Greek mythology, Syrinx () was an Arcadian nymph and a follower of Artemis, known for her chastity. Being pursued by Pan, she fled into the river Ladon, and at her own request was metamorphosed into a reed from which Pan then mad ...

muscles among birds, producing a wide range of

songs A song is a musical composition performed by the human voice. The voice often carries the melody (a series of distinct and fixed pitches) using patterns of sound and silence. Songs have a structure, such as the common ABA form, and are usuall ...

and other vocalizations, though some of them, such as the

crow A crow is a bird of the genus ''Corvus'', or more broadly, a synonym for all of ''Corvus''. The word "crow" is used as part of the common name of many species. The related term "raven" is not linked scientifically to any certain trait but is rathe ...

s, do not sound musical to human beings. Some, such as the

lyrebird A lyrebird is either of two species of ground-dwelling Australian birds that compose the genus ''Menura'', and the family Menuridae. They are most notable for their impressive ability to mimic natural and artificial sounds from their environme ...

, are accomplished mimics. The

New Zealand wren The New Zealand wrens are a family (Acanthisittidae) of tiny passerines endemic to New Zealand. They were represented by seven Holocene species in four or five genera, although only two species in two genera survive today. They are understood to ...

s are tiny birds restricted to

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

, at least in modern times; they were long placed in Passeri. PasserinePterylosis

Most passerines are smaller than typical members of other avian orders. The heaviest and altogether largest passerines are the

thick-billed raven The thick-billed raven (''Corvus crassirostris''), a corvid from the Horn of Africa, shares with the common raven the distinction of being the largest bird in the corvid family. The thick-billed raven averages in length, with a range of and we ...

and the larger races of

common raven The common raven or northern raven (''Corvus corax'') is a large all-black passerine bird. It is the most widely distributed of all Corvidae, corvids, found across the Northern Hemisphere. There are 11 accepted subspecies with little variatio ...

, each exceeding and . The

superb lyrebird The superb lyrebird (''Menura novaehollandiae'') is an Australian passerine songbird, one of two species from the family Menuridae, with the other being the much rarer Albert's lyrebird. It is one of the world's largest songbirds, and is re ...

and some

birds-of-paradise The birds-of-paradise are members of the family Paradisaeidae of the order Passeriformes. The majority of species are found in eastern Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, and eastern Australia. The family has 45 species in 17 genera. The members of this ...

, due to very long tails or tail coverts, are longer overall. The smallest passerine is the short-tailed pygmy tyrant, at and .

Anatomy

The foot of a passerine has three toes directed forward and one toe directed backward, called anisodactyl arrangement. The hind toe (

hallux Toes are the digits of the foot of a tetrapod. Animal species such as cats that walk on their toes are described as being ''digitigrade''. Humans, and other animals that walk on the soles of their feet, are described as being ''plantigrade''; ...

) is long and joins the leg at approximately the same level as the front toes. This arrangement enables passerine birds to easily perch upright on branches. The toes have no webbing or joining, but in some

cotinga The cotingas are a large family, Cotingidae, of suboscine passerine birds found in Central America and tropical South America. Cotingas are birds of forests or forest edges, that are primary frugivorous. They all have broad bills with hooked ti ...

s, the second and third toes are united at their basal third. The leg of passerine birds contains an additional special adaptation for perching. A tendon in the rear of the leg running from the underside of the toes to the muscle behind the

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. A similar structure also occurred in the Mesozoic Heterodontosauridae. These ...

will automatically be pulled and tighten when the leg bends, causing the foot to curl and become stiff when the bird lands on a branch. This enables passerines to sleep while perching without falling off. Most passerine birds have 12 tail feathers but the

has 16, and several spinetails in the family Furnariidae have 10, 8, or even 6, as is the case of

Des Murs's wiretail Des Murs's wiretail (''Sylviorthorhynchus desmurii'') is a small passerine bird of southern South America which belongs to the ovenbird (family), ovenbird family Furnariidae. Molecular phylogenetics places it within the Synallaxinae and indicates ...

. Species adapted to tree trunk climbing such as

treecreepers The treecreepers are a family (biology), family, Certhiidae, of small passerine Aves, birds, widespread in wooded regions of the Northern Hemisphere. The family contains nine species in one genus, ''Certhia''. Their plumage is dull-coloured. As t ...

and woodcreeper have stiff tail feathers that are used as props during climbing. Extremely long tails used as sexual ornaments are shown by species in different families. A well-known example is the long-tailed widowbird.

Eggs and nests

The chicks of passerines are

altricial Precocial species in birds and mammals are those in which the young are relatively mature and mobile from the moment of birth or hatching. They are normally nidifugous, meaning that they leave the nest shortly after birth or hatching. Altricial ...

: blind, featherless, and helpless when hatched from their eggs. Hence, the chicks require extensive parental care. Most passerines lay colored eggs, in contrast with nonpasserines, most of whose eggs are white except in some ground-nesting groups such as

Charadriiformes Charadriiformes (, from '' Charadrius'', the type genus of family Charadriidae) is a diverse order of small to medium-large birds. It includes about 390 species and has members in all parts of the world. Most charadriiform birds live near water ...

and

nightjar Nightjars are medium-sized nocturnal or crepuscular birds in the family Caprimulgidae and order Caprimulgiformes, characterised by long wings, short legs, and very short bills. They are sometimes called bugeaters, their primary source of food ...

s, where camouflage is necessary, and in some

parasitic Parasitism is a close relationship between species, where one organism, the parasite, lives (at least some of the time) on or inside another organism, the host, causing it some harm, and is adapted structurally to this way of life. The ent ...

cuckoo Cuckoos are birds in the Cuculidae ( ) family, the sole taxon in the order Cuculiformes ( ). The cuckoo family includes the common or European cuckoo, roadrunners, koels, malkohas, couas, coucals, and anis. The coucals and anis are somet ...

s, which match the passerine host's egg. The

vinous-throated parrotbill The vinous-throated parrotbill (''Suthora webbiana'') is a species of parrotbill in the family Paradoxornithidae; formerly, it was placed in the closely related Sylviidae or Timaliidae. It is found in China, Japan, Korea, Mongolia, Russia, Ta ...

has two egg colors, white and blue, to deter the brood parasitic

common cuckoo The cuckoo, common cuckoo, European cuckoo or Eurasian cuckoo (''Cuculus canorus'') is a member of the cuckoo order of birds, Cuculiformes, which includes the Geococcyx, roadrunners, the ani (bird), anis and the coucals. This species is a widesp ...

. Clutches vary considerably in size: some larger passerines of Australia such as lyrebirds and scrub-robins lay only a single egg, most smaller passerines in warmer climates lay between two and five, while in the higher latitudes of the Northern Hemisphere, hole-nesting species like tits can lay up to a dozen and other species around five or six. The family

Viduidae The indigobirds, whydahs and cuckoo-finch make up the family Viduidae; they are small passerine birds native to Africa. These are Finch, finch-like species which usually have black or indigo predominating in their plumage. The birds named "whyda ...

do not build their own nests, instead, they lay eggs in other birds' nests. The Passeriformes contain several groups of

brood parasite Brood may refer to: Nature * Brood, a collective term for offspring * Brooding, the incubation of bird eggs by their parents * Bee brood, the young of a beehive * Individual broods of North American periodical cicadas: ** Brood X, the largest ...

s such as the viduas, cuckoo-finches, and the cowbirds.

Origin and evolution

The evolutionary history of the passerine families and the relationships among them remained rather mysterious until the late 20th century. In many cases, passerine families were grouped together on the basis of morphological similarities that, it is now believed, are the result of

convergent evolution Convergent evolution is the independent evolution of similar features in species of different periods or epochs in time. Convergent evolution creates analogous structures that have similar form or function but were not present in the last comm ...

, not a close genetic relationship. For example, the wrens of the Americas and Eurasia, those of Australia, and those of New Zealand look superficially similar and behave in similar ways, 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. Advances in

molecular biology Molecular biology is a branch of biology that seeks to understand the molecule, molecular basis of biological activity in and between Cell (biology), cells, including biomolecule, biomolecular synthesis, modification, mechanisms, and interactio ...

and improved paleobiogeographical data gradually are revealing a clearer picture of passerine origins and evolution that reconciles molecular affinities, the constraints of morphology, and the specifics of the fossil record. The first passerines are now thought to have evolved in the Southern Hemisphere in the late

Paleocene The Paleocene ( ), or Palaeocene, is a geological epoch (geology), epoch that lasted from about 66 to 56 mya (unit), million years ago (mya). It is the first epoch of the Paleogene Period (geology), Period in the modern Cenozoic Era (geology), ...

or early

Eocene The Eocene ( ) is a geological epoch (geology), epoch that lasted from about 56 to 33.9 million years ago (Ma). It is the second epoch of the Paleogene Period (geology), Period in the modern Cenozoic Era (geology), Era. The name ''Eocene'' comes ...

, around 50 million years ago. The initial diversification of passerines coincides with the separation of the southern continents in the

early Eocene In the geologic timescale the Ypresian is the oldest age (geology), age or lowest stage (stratigraphy), stratigraphic stage of the Eocene. It spans the time between , is preceded by the Thanetian Age (part of the Paleocene) and is followed by th ...

. The

s are the first to become isolated in

Zealandia Zealandia (pronounced ), also known as (Māori language, Māori) or Tasmantis (from Tasman Sea), is an almost entirely submerged continent, submerged mass of continental crust in Oceania that subsided after breaking away from Gondwana 83� ...

, and the second split involved the origin of the

and the

in the

Australian continent The continent of Australia, sometimes known in technical contexts as Sahul (), Australia-New Guinea, Australinea, or Meganesia to distinguish it from the country of Australia, is located within the Southern and Eastern hemispheres, near t ...

. The Passeri experienced a great radiation of forms in Australia. A major branch of the Passeri, the

parvorder Order () is one of the eight major hierarchical taxonomic ranks in Linnaean taxonomy. It is classified between family and class. In biological classification, the order is a taxonomic rank used in the classification of organisms and recognized ...

Passerida Passerida is, under the Sibley-Ahlquist taxonomy, one of two parvorders contained within the suborder Passeri (standard taxonomic practice would place them at the rank of infraorder). While more recent research suggests that its sister parvorde ...

, dispersed into Eurasia and Africa about 40 million years ago, where they experienced further radiation of new lineages. This eventually led to three major

lineages comprising about 4,000 species, which in addition to the

Corvida The "Corvida" were one of two "parvorders" contained within the suborder Passeri, as proposed in the Sibley-Ahlquist taxonomy, the other being Passerida. Standard taxonomic practice would place them at the rank of infraorder. More recent res ...

and numerous minor lineages make up songbird diversity today. Extensive biogeographical mixing happens, with northern forms returning to the south, southern forms moving north, and so on.

Fossil record

Earliest passerines

Perching bird

osteology Osteology () is the scientific study of bones, practiced by osteologists . A subdiscipline of anatomy, anthropology, archaeology and paleontology, osteology is the detailed study of the structure of bones, skeletal elements, teeth, microbone mo ...

, especially of the limb bones, is rather diagnostic. However, the early fossil record is poor because passerines are relatively small, and their delicate bones do not preserve well.

Queensland Museum The Queensland Museum Kurilpa is the state museum of Queensland, funded by the government, and dedicated to natural history, cultural heritage, science and human achievement. The museum currently operates from its headquarters and general museu ...

specimens F20688 (

carpometacarpus The carpometacarpus is a bone found in the hands of birds. It results from the fusion of the carpal and metacarpal bone, and is essentially a single fused bone between the wrist and the knuckles. It is a smallish bone in most birds, generally fla ...

) and F24685 (

) from Murgon, Queensland, are fossil bone fragments initially assigned to

Passeriformes A passerine () is any bird of the order Passeriformes (; from Latin 'sparrow' and '-shaped') which includes more than half of all bird species. Sometimes known as perching birds, passerines generally have an anisodactyl arrangement of their ...

. However, the material is too fragmentary and their affinities have been questioned. Several more recent fossils from the

Oligocene The Oligocene ( ) is a geologic epoch (geology), epoch of the Paleogene Geologic time scale, Period that extends from about 33.9 million to 23 million years before the present ( to ). As with other older geologic periods, the rock beds that defin ...

of Europe, such as '' Wieslochia'', '' Jamna'', '' Resoviaornis,'' and '' Crosnoornis'', are more complete and definitely represent early passeriforms, and have been found to belong to a variety of modern and extinct lineages. From the Bathans Formation at the

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, with the West Branch draining the eastern side of the St Bathans Range, and the East Branch draining the western flanks of ...

Otago Otago (, ; ) is a regions of New Zealand, region of New Zealand located in the southern half of the South Island and administered by the Otago Regional Council. It has an area of approximately , making it the country's second largest local go ...

, New Zealand, MNZ S42815 (a

distal Standard anatomical terms of location are used to describe unambiguously the anatomy of humans and other animals. The terms, typically derived from Latin or Greek roots, describe something in its standard anatomical position. This position provi ...

right

tarsometatarsus The tarsometatarsus is a bone that is only found in the lower leg of birds and some non-avian dinosaurs. It is formed from the fusion of several bird bones found in other types of animals, and homologous to the mammalian tarsus (ankle bones) a ...

of a tui-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 The Middle Miocene is a sub-epoch of the Miocene epoch (geology), epoch made up of two Stage (stratigraphy), stages: the Langhian and Serravallian stages. The Middle Miocene is preceded by the Early Miocene. The sub-epoch lasted from 15.97 ± 0. ...

Awamoan
to Lillburnian, 19–16 mya).

Early European passerines

In Europe, perching birds are not too uncommon in the fossil record from the

onward, belonging to several lineages: * '' Wieslochia'' (Early Oligocene of Frauenweiler, Germany) – suboscine * '' Resoviaornis'' (Early Oligocene of Wola Rafałowska, Poland) – oscine * '' Jamna'' (Early Oligocene of Jamna Dolna, Poland) – basal * '' Winnicavis'' (Early Oligocene of Lower Silesian Voivodeship, Poland) * '' Crosnoornis'' (Early Oligocene of Poland) - suboscine * 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 Mátraszőlős, Hungary) – at least 2 taxa, possibly 3; at least one probably Oscines. * Passeriformes gen. et sp. indet. (Middle Miocene of Felsőtárkány, Hungary) – oscine? * Passeriformes gen. et sp. indet. (Late Miocene of Polgárdi, Hungary) – Sylvioidea (

Sylviidae Sylviidae is a family of passerine birds that includes the typical warblers ''Sylvia'', and closely related genus '' Curruca'', formerly included in ''Sylvia''. They are found in Eurasia and Africa, with the greatest diversity in the Mediterrane ...

? Cettiidae?) That suboscines expanded much beyond their region of origin is proven by several fossils from Germany such as a presumed broadbill (

Eurylaimidae The Eurylaimidae are a family of suboscine passerine birds that occur from the eastern Himalayas to Indonesia and the Philippines. The family previously included the sapayoa from the Neotropics, the asity, asities from Madagascar, and the Calyp ...

) humerus fragment from the Early

Miocene The Miocene ( ) is the first epoch (geology), geological epoch of the Neogene Period and extends from about (Ma). The Miocene was named by Scottish geologist Charles Lyell; the name comes from the Greek words (', "less") and (', "new") and mea ...

(roughly 20 mya) of Wintershof, Germany, the Late Oligocene

from France listed above, and '' Wieslochia'', among others. Extant Passeri super-families 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 onward and into the

Pliocene The Pliocene ( ; also Pleiocene) is the epoch (geology), epoch in the geologic time scale that extends from 5.33 to 2.58Pleistocene The Pleistocene ( ; referred to colloquially as the ''ice age, Ice Age'') is the geological epoch (geology), epoch that lasted from to 11,700 years ago, spanning the Earth's most recent period of repeated glaciations. Before a change was fin ...

and early

Holocene The Holocene () is the current geologic time scale, geological epoch, beginning approximately 11,700 years ago. It follows the Last Glacial Period, which concluded with the Holocene glacial retreat. The Holocene and the preceding Pleistocene to ...

lagerstätten (<1.8 mya) yield numerous extant species, and many yield almost nothing but extant species or their

chronospecies A chronospecies is a species derived from a sequential development pattern that involves continual and uniform changes from an extinct ancestral form on an evolutionary scale. The sequence of alterations eventually produces a population that is p ...

and paleosubspecies.

American fossils

In the

Americas The Americas, sometimes collectively called America, are a landmass comprising the totality of North America and South America.''Webster's New World College Dictionary'', 2010 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio. When viewed as a sing ...

, the fossil record is more scant before the Pleistocene, from which several still-existing 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, United States: the Palaeoscinidae with the single genus '' Palaeoscinis''. ''"Palaeostruthus" eurius'' (Pliocene of Florida) probably belongs to an extant family, most likely passeroidean.

Systematics and taxonomy

The Passeriformes is currently divided into three suborders:

Acanthisitti The New Zealand wrens are a family (Acanthisittidae) of tiny passerines endemic to New Zealand. They were represented by seven Holocene species in four or five genera, although only two species in two genera survive today. They are understood to ...

(New Zealand wrens),

, (suboscines) and

(oscines or songbirds). The Passeri is now subdivided into two major groups recognized now as Corvides and

respectively containing the large superfamilies Corvoidea and Meliphagoidea, as well as minor lineages, and the superfamilies Sylvioidea, Muscicapoidea, and Passeroidea but this arrangement has been found to be oversimplified. Since the mid-2000s, studies have investigated the

phylogeny A phylogenetic tree or phylogeny is a graphical representation which shows the evolutionary history between a set of species or Taxon, taxa during a specific time.Felsenstein J. (2004). ''Inferring Phylogenies'' Sinauer Associates: Sunderland, M ...

of the Passeriformes and found that many families from

Australasia Australasia is a subregion of Oceania, comprising Australia, New Zealand (overlapping with Polynesia), and sometimes including New Guinea and surrounding islands (overlapping with Melanesia). The term is used in a number of different context ...

traditionally included in the Corvoidea actually represent more basal lineages within oscines. Likewise, the traditional three-superfamily arrangement within the Passeri has turned out to be far more complex and will require changes in classification. Major " wastebin" families such as the

Old World warbler The Old World warblers are a large group of birds formerly grouped together in the bird family Sylviidae. They are not closely related to the New World warblers. The family held over 400 species in over 70 genera, and were the source of much taxo ...

s and

Old World babbler The Old World babblers or Timaliidae, are a family (biology), family of mostly Old World passerine birds. They are rather diverse in size and coloration, but are characterised by soft, fluffy plumage. These are birds of tropical areas, with the g ...

s have turned out to be

paraphyletic Paraphyly is a taxonomic term describing a grouping that consists of the grouping's last common ancestor and some but not all of its descendant lineages. The grouping is said to be paraphyletic ''with respect to'' the excluded subgroups. In co ...

and are being rearranged. Several taxa turned out to represent highly distinct lineages, so new families had to be established, some of these – like the stitchbird of New Zealand and the

Eurasia Eurasia ( , ) is a continental area on Earth, comprising all of Europe and Asia. According to some geographers, Physical geography, physiographically, Eurasia is a single supercontinent. The concept of Europe and Asia as distinct continents d ...

bearded reedling The bearded reedling (''Panurus biarmicus'') is a small, long-tailed passerine bird found in reed beds near water in the temperate zone of Eurasia. It is frequently known as the bearded tit or the bearded parrotbill, as it historically was beli ...

–

monotypic In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group (taxon) that contains only one immediately subordinate taxon. A monotypic species is one that does not include subspecies or smaller, infraspecific taxa. In the case of genera, the term "unisp ...

with only one living species.The former does not even have recognized subspecies, while the latter is one of the most singular birds alive today. Good photos of a bearded reedling are for exampl
here
an
here
. In the Passeri alone, a number of minor lineages will eventually be recognized as distinct superfamilies. For example, the

kinglet A kinglet is a small bird in the family Regulidae. Species in this family were formerly classified with the Old World warblers. "Regulidae" is derived from the Latin word ''regulus'' for "petty king" or prince, and refers to the coloured crowns ...

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. No particularly close relatives of theirs have been found among comprehensive studies of the living Passeri, though they might be fairly close to some little-studied tropical Asian groups.

Nuthatch The nuthatches () constitute 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. Mo ...

es,

wren Wrens are a family, Troglodytidae, of small brown passerine birds. The family includes 96 species and is divided into 19 genera. All species are restricted to the New World except for the Eurasian wren that is widely distributed in the Old Worl ...

s, and their closest relatives are currently grouped in a distinct super-family Certhioidea.

Taxonomic list of Passeriformes families

This list is in taxonomic order, placing related families next to one another. The families listed are those recognised by the

International Ornithologists' Union The International Ornithologists' Union (IOU) is an international organization for the promotion of ornithology Ornithology, from Ancient Greek ὄρνις (''órnis''), meaning "bird", and -logy from λόγος (''lógos''), meaning "study", ...

(IOC). The order and the division into infraorders, parvorders, and superfamilies follows the phylogenetic analysis published by Carl Oliveros and colleagues in 2019. The relationships between the families in the suborder Tyranni (suboscines) were all well determined but some of the nodes in Passeri (oscines or songbirds) were unclear owing to the rapid splitting of the lineages.

Suborder Acanthisitti

:::*

Acanthisittidae The New Zealand wrens are a family (Acanthisittidae) of tiny passerines endemic to New Zealand. They were represented by seven Holocene species in four or five genera, although only two species in two genera survive today. They are understood to ...

: New Zealand wrens Pitta guajana-20030531B

Suborder
Tyranni The Tyranni (suboscines) are a suborder of passerine birds that includes more than 1,000 species, a large majority of which are South American. It is named after the type genus '' Tyrannus''. These have a different anatomy of the syrinx musculat ...
(suboscines)

* Infraorder Eurylaimides: Old World suboscines ::*

Philepittidae The asities are a family (biology), family of birds, Philepittidae, that are Endemism, endemic to Madagascar. The asities consist of four species in two genus, genera. The ''Neodrepanis'' species are known as sunbird-asities and were formerly kn ...

: asities ::*

: typical broadbills ::* Calyptomenidae: African and green broadbills ::* Sapayoidae: broad-billed sapayoa ::* Pittidae: pittas * Infraorder Tyrannides: New World suboscines
:*Parvorder Furnariida ::* Melanopareiidae: crescentchests ::* Conopophagidae: gnateaters and gnatpittas ::* Thamnophilidae: antbirds ::* Grallariidae: antpittas ::* Rhinocryptidae: typical tapaculos ::* Formicariidae: antthrushes ::* Furnariidae: ovenbirds and woodcreepers :*Parvorder Tyrannida ::* Pipridae: manakins ::* Cotingidae: cotingas ::*

Tityridae Tityridae is family of suboscine passerine birds found in forest and woodland in the Neotropics. The 45 species in this family were formerly spread over the families Tyrannidae, Pipridae and Cotingidae (''see Taxonomy (biology), Taxonomy''). As y ...

: tityras, becards and allies ::* Oxyruncidae: sharpbill ::* Onychorhynchidae: royal flycatchers and allies ::*

Tyrannidae The tyrant flycatchers (Tyrannidae) comprise a Family (biology), family of passerine birds which is found virtually throughout North America, North and South America. It is the world's largest family of birds, with more than 400 species, and is ...

: tyrant flycatchers

Suborder
Passeri A songbird is a bird belonging to the suborder Passeri of the perching birds (Passeriformes). Another name that is sometimes seen as the scientific or vernacular name is Oscines, from Latin ''oscen'', "songbird". The Passeriformes contains 5,00 ...
(oscines or songbirds)

:::* Atrichornithidae: scrub-birds :::* Menuridae: lyrebirds :::*

Climacteridae There are seven species of Australasian treecreeper in the passerine bird family Climacteridae. They are medium-small, mostly brown birds with patterning on their underparts, and all are endemic to Australia-New Guinea. They resemble, but are n ...

: Australian treecreepers :::*

Ptilonorhynchidae Bowerbirds () make up the bird family (biology), family Ptilonorhynchidae. They are renowned for their unique courtship behaviour, where males build a structure and decorate it with sticks and brightly coloured objects in an attempt to attract a ...

: bowerbirds :::* Pomatostomidae: pseudo-babblers :::* Orthonychidae: logrunners :*Superfamily Meliphagoidea ::* Acanthizidae: scrubwrens, thornbills, and gerygones ::*

Meliphagidae The honeyeaters are a large and diverse family (biology), family, Meliphagidae, of small to medium-sized birds. The family includes the Epthianura, Australian chats, myzomelas, friarbirds, wattlebirds, Manorina, miners and melidectes. They are m ...

: honeyeaters ::*

Maluridae The Australasian wrens are a family, Maluridae, of small, insectivorous passerine birds endemic to Australia and New Guinea. While commonly known as wrens, they are unrelated to the true wrens. The family comprises 32 species (including sixteen ...

: fairywrens, emu-wrens and grasswrens ::* Dasyornithidae: bristlebirds ::* Pardalotidae: pardalotes Regentbowerbirdmale

* Infraorder Corvides – previously known as the parvorder

:::*

Cinclosomatidae Cinclosomatidae is a family (biology), family of passerine birds native to Australia and New Guinea. It has a complicated taxonomic history and different authors vary in which birds they include in the family. It includes the quail-thrushes and j ...

: jewel-babblers, quail-thrushes :::* Campephagidae: cuckooshrikes and trillers :::* Mohouidae: whiteheads :::* Neosittidae: sittellas ::*Superfamily Orioloidea :::* Psophodidae: whipbirds :::* Eulacestomatidae: wattled ploughbill :::* Falcunculidae: shriketit :::* Oreoicidae: Australo-Papuan bellbirds :::* Paramythiidae: painted berrypeckers :::*

Vireonidae The vireos make up a family (biology), family, Vireonidae, of small to medium-sized passerine birds found in the New World (Canada to Argentina, including Bermuda and the West Indies) and Southeast Asia. The family contains 62 species and is d ...

: vireos :::*

Pachycephalidae The Pachycephalidae are a family of bird species that includes the whistlers, shrikethrushes, and three of the pitohuis, and is part of the ancient Australo-Papuan radiation of songbirds. The family includes 69 species that are separated into fi ...

: whistlers :::* Oriolidae: Old World orioles and figbirds ::*Superfamily Malaconotoidea Goldcrest 1

:::* Machaerirhynchidae: boatbills :::*

Artamidae Artamidae is a family of passerine birds found in Australia, the Indo-Pacific region, and Southern Asia. It includes 24 extant species in six genera and three subfamilies: Peltopsinae (with one genus, '' Peltops''), Artaminae (with one genus con ...

: woodswallows, butcherbirds, currawongs, and Australian magpie :::* Rhagologidae: mottled berryhunter :::* Malaconotidae: puffback shrikes, bush shrikes, tchagras, and boubous :::*

Pityriaseidae The Bornean bristlehead (''Pityriasis gymnocephala''), also variously known as the bristled shrike, bald-headed crow or the bald-headed wood-shrike, is the only member of the passerine family (biology), family Pityriasidae and genus ''Pityriasis ...

: bristlehead :::* Aegithinidae: ioras :::* Platysteiridae: wattle-eyes and batises :::*

Vangidae The family Vangidae (from ''vanga'', Malagasy language, Malagasy for the hook-billed vanga, ''Vanga curvirostris'') comprises a group of often shrike-like medium-sized birds distributed from Asia to Africa, including the vangas of Madagascar to ...

: vangas ::*Superfamily Corvoidea :::*

Rhipiduridae The family Rhipiduridae are small insectivorous birds of Australasia, Southeast Asia and the Indian subcontinent that includes the fantails and silktails. Taxonomy and systematics The family contains 55 species which are divided into four genera ...

: fantails :::* Dicruridae: drongos :::* Monarchidae: monarch flycatchers :::* Ifritidae: blue-capped ifrit :::* Paradisaeidae: birds-of-paradise :::*

Corcoracidae Corcoracidae is a family of passerine birds known as the Australian mudnesters. The family has sometimes been called Struthideidae in the past; however, despite Struthideidae being an older name than Corcoracidae, the latter name takes precedence ...

: white-winged chough and apostlebird :::* Melampittidae: melampittas :::* Laniidae: shrikes :::* Platylophidae: jayshrike :::*

Corvidae Corvidae is a Cosmopolitan distribution, cosmopolitan Family (biology), family of Songbird, oscine passerine birds that contains the crows, ravens, Rook (bird), rooks, magpies, jackdaws, jays, treepies, choughs, and Nutcracker (bird), nutcrackers ...

: crows, ravens, and jays Acrocephalus dumetorum

* Infraorder Passerides – previously known as the parvorder Passerida :::* Cnemophilidae: satinbirds :::* Melanocharitidae: berrypeckers and longbills :::*

Callaeidae Callaeidae (sometimes Callaeatidae) is a family of passerine birds endemic to New Zealand. It contains three genera, with five species in the family. One species, the huia, became extinct early in the 20th century, while the South Island kōk ...

: New Zealand wattlebirds :::* Notiomystidae: stitchbird :::* Petroicidae: Australasian robins :::* Eupetidae: rail-babbler :::* Picathartidae: rockfowl :::* Chaetopidae: rock-jumpers Eurasian blue tit Lancashire 2

:* Parvorder Sylviida – previously known as the superfamily Sylviodea :::* Hyliotidae: hyliotas :::* Stenostiridae: fairy flycatchers :::*

Paridae The tits, chickadees, and titmice constitute the Paridae, a family of small passerine birds which occur mainly in the Northern Hemisphere and Africa. Many were formerly classified in the genus ''Parus''. Eurasian and African members of this f ...

: tits, chickadees and titmice :::* Remizidae: penduline tits :::* Panuridae: bearded reedling :::*

Alaudidae Larks are passerine birds of the family Alaudidae. Larks have a cosmopolitan distribution with the largest number of species occurring in Africa. Only a single species, the horned lark, occurs in North America, and only Horsfield's bush lark occ ...

: larks :::* Nicatoridae: nicators :::* Macrosphenidae: crombecs and African warblers :::*

Cisticolidae The family Cisticolidae is a group of about 160 warblers, small passerine birds found mainly in warmer southern regions of the Old World. They were formerly included within the Old World warbler family Sylviidae. This family probably originated ...

: cisticolas and allies Brown-headed Nuthatch-27527-4c

::*Superfamily Locustelloidea :::* Acrocephalidae: reed warblers, Grauer's warbler and allies :::*

Locustellidae Locustellidae is a recently recognised family of small insectivorous songbirds (" warblers"), formerly placed in the Old World warbler " wastebin" family. It contains the grasshopper warblers, grassbirds, and the '' Bradypterus'' " bush war ...

: grassbirds and allies :::* Donacobiidae: black-capped donacobius :::* Bernieridae: Malagasy warblers :::— :::* Pnoepygidae: wren-babblers :::*

Hirundinidae The swallows, martins, and saw-wings, or Hirundinidae are a family of passerine songbirds found around the world on all continents, including occasionally in Antarctica. Highly adapted to aerial feeding, they have a distinctive appearance. The t ...

: swallows and martins Einsiedlerdrossel

::*Superfamily Sylvioidea :::*

Pycnonotidae The bulbuls are members of a family (biology), family, Pycnonotidae, of medium-sized perching bird, passerine songbirds, which also includes greenbuls, brownbuls, leafloves, and bristlebills. The family is distributed across most of Africa and in ...

: bulbuls :::*

: sylviid warblers :::*

Paradoxornithidae The parrotbills are a family, Paradoxornithidae, of passerine birds that are primarily native to East, Southeast and South Asia, with a single species in western North America, though feral populations exist elsewhere. They are generally smal ...

: parrotbills and myzornis :::*

Zosteropidae The white-eyes are a family, Zosteropidae, of small passerine birds native to tropical, subtropical and temperate Sub-Saharan Africa, southern and eastern Asia, and Australasia. White-eyes inhabit most tropical islands in the Indian Ocean, the ...

: white-eyes :::* Timaliidae: tree babblers :::*

Leiothrichidae The laughingthrushes are a family, Leiothrichidae, of Old World passerine birds. The family contains 133 species and is divided into 16 genera. The species are diverse in size and coloration. These are birds of tropical areas, with the greatest v ...

: laughingthrushes and allies :::* Alcippeidae: Alcippe fulvettas :::*

Pellorneidae The ground babblers are a family, Pellorneidae, of mostly Old World passerine birds belonging to the superfamily Sylvioidea. They are quite diverse in size and coloration, and usually characterised by soft, fluffy plumage and a tail on average t ...

: ground babblers GouldianFinches

::*Superfamily Aegithaloidea :::*

Phylloscopidae Leaf warblers are small insectivorous passerine birds belonging to the genus ''Phylloscopus''. Leaf warblers were formerly included in the Old World warbler family but are now considered to belong to the family Phylloscopidae, introduced in 2006 ...

: leaf-warblers and allies :::*

Hyliidae Hyliidae is a family of passerine birds which contains just two species, the green hylia (''Hylia prasina'') and the tit hylia (''Pholidornis rushiae''). Physiological similarities and molecular phylogenetic studies strongly support the creat ...

: hylias :::*

Aegithalidae The bushtits or long-tailed tits are small passerine birds from the family (biology), family Aegithalidae, containing 13 species in three genera, all but one of which (''Psaltriparus'') are found in Eurasia. Bushtits are active birds with long t ...

: long-tailed tits or bushtits :::* Scotocercidae: streaked scrub warbler :::* Cettiidae: Cettia bush warblers and allies :::*

Erythrocercidae ''Erythrocercus'' is a genus of birds containing three flycatchers that are found in Africa. The genus is placed in its own family (biology), family Erythrocercidae that was introduced by Silke Fregin and collaborators in 2012. Species The ge ...

: yellow flycatchers Hirundo abyssinica

:* Parvorder Muscicapida – previously treated as superfamily Muscicapoidea ::*Superfamily Bombycilloidea :::* Dulidae: palmchat :::* Bombycillidae: waxwings :::* Ptiliogonatidae: silky flycatchers :::* Hylocitreidae: hylocitrea :::*

Hypocoliidae The grey hypocolius or simply hypocolius (''Hypocolius ampelinus'') is a small passerine bird species. It is the sole member of the genus ''Hypocolius'' and it is placed in a family of its own, the Hypocoliidae. This slender and long tailed bird ...

: hypocolius :::* †

Mohoidae Mohoidae, also known as the Hawaiian honeyeaters, was a Family (biology), family of Hawaiian species of now Holocene extinction event, recently Extinction, extinct, Nectarivore, nectarivorous songbirds in the genera ''Moho (genus), Moho'' (ōō) ...

: oos ::*Superfamily Muscicapoidea :::* Elachuridae: spotted elachura :::* Cinclidae: dippers :::*

Muscicapidae The Old World flycatchers are a large family, the Muscicapidae, of small passerine birds restricted to the Old World (Europe, Africa and Asia), with the exception of several vagrants and two species, bluethroat (''Luscinia svecica'') and north ...

: Old World flycatchers and chats :::*

Turdidae The thrushes are a passerine bird family, Turdidae, with a worldwide distribution. The family was once much larger before biologists reclassified the former subfamily Saxicolinae, which includes the chats and European robins, as Old World flyca ...

: thrushes and allies :::* Buphagidae: oxpeckers :::* Sturnidae: starlings and rhabdornis :::* Mimidae: mockingbirds and thrashers :::— :::* Regulidae: goldcrests and kinglets ::*Superfamily Certhioidea :::* Tichodromidae: wallcreeper :::* Sittidae: nuthatches :::* Certhiidae: treecreepers :::* Salpornithidae: spotted creepers :::* Polioptilidae: gnatcatchers :::* Troglodytidae: wrens :* Parvorder Passerida – previously known as the superfamily Passeroidea :::* Promeropidae: sugarbirds :::* Modulatricidae: dapple-throat and allies :::*

Nectariniidae Sunbirds and spiderhunters make up the family Nectariniidae of passerine birds. They are small, slender passerines from the Old World, usually with downward-curved bills. Many are brightly coloured, often with iridescent feathers, particularly i ...

: sunbirds :::*

Dicaeidae The flowerpeckers are a family (biology), family, Dicaeidae, of passerine birds. The family comprises three genera, ''Dicaeum'', ''Prionochilus'' and ''Pachyglossa'', with 56 species in total. The family has sometimes been included in an enlarge ...

: flowerpeckers :::* Chloropseidae: leafbirds :::*

Irenidae The three fairy-bluebirds are small passerine bird species found in forests and plantations in tropical southern Asia and the Philippines. They are the sole members of the genus ''Irena'' and family Irenidae, and are related to the ioras and le ...

: fairy-bluebirds :::* Peucedramidae: olive warbler :::* Urocynchramidae: Przewalski's finch :::*

Ploceidae Ploceidae is a family of small passerine birds, many of which are called weavers, weaverbirds, weaver finches, or bishops. These names come from the nests of intricately woven vegetation created by birds in this family. In most recent classificat ...

: weavers :::*

: indigobirds and whydahs :::*

Estrildidae Estrildidae, or estrildid finches, is a family of small seed-eating passerine birds of the Old World tropics and Australasia. They comprise species commonly known as munias, mannikins, firefinches, parrotfinches and waxbills. They are gregarious ...

: waxbills, munias and allies :::* Prunellidae: accentors :::*

Passeridae Old World sparrows are a group of small passerine birds forming the family Passeridae. They are also known as true sparrows, a name also used for a particular genus of the family, '' Passer''. They are distinct from both the New World sparrows, ...

: Old World sparrows and snowfinches :::*

Motacillidae The wagtails, longclaws, and pipits are a family (biology), family, Motacillidae, of small passerine birds with medium to long tails. Around 70 species occur in five genus, genera. The longclaws are entirely restricted to the Afrotropics, and the ...

: wagtails and pipits :::*

Fringillidae The true finches are small to medium-sized passerine birds in the family Fringillidae. Finches generally have stout conical bills adapted for eating seeds and nuts and often have colourful plumage. They occupy a great range of habitats where the ...

: finches and euphonias ::*Superfamily Emberizoidea – previously known as the New World

nine-primaried oscines The nine-primaried oscines is a group of bird family (biology), families in the suborder Passeri (oscines) of the Passeriformes. The composition of the group has changed since the term was introduced but is now considered to consist of seven major ...

:::* Rhodinocichlidae: rosy thrush-tanager :::*

Calcariidae Calcariidae is a small family (biology), family of passerine birds. It includes longspurs and snow buntings. There are six species in three genera worldwide, found mainly in North America and Eurasia. They are migratory and can live in a variety ...

: longspurs and snow buntings :::* Emberizidae: buntings :::*

Cardinalidae Cardinalidae (sometimes referred to as "cardinal-grosbeaks" or simply "cardinals") is a family of New World-Endemism, endemic passerine birds that consists of Cardinalis, cardinals, grosbeaks, and Passerina, buntings. It also includes several ot ...

: cardinals :::*

Mitrospingidae The Mitrospingidae is a family of passerine birds. It consists of three genera and four species. The family is found in South America and southern Central America. The family was identified in 2013, and consists of birds that have been traditiona ...

: mitrospingid tanagers :::*

Thraupidae The tanagers (singular ) comprise the bird family (biology), family Thraupidae, in the order Passeriformes. The family has a Neotropical distribution and is the second-largest family of birds. It represents about 4% of all avian species and 12 ...

: tanagers and allies :::* Passerellidae: New World sparrows, bush tanagers :::*

Parulidae The New World warblers or wood-warblers are a group of small, often colorful, passerine birds that make up the family Parulidae and are restricted to the New World. The family contains 120 species. They are not closely related to Old World warb ...

: New World warblers :::* Icteriidae: yellow-breasted chat :::*

Icteridae Icterids () or New World blackbirds make up a family, the Icteridae (), of small to medium-sized, often colorful, New World passerine birds. The family contains 108 species and is divided into 30 genera. Most species have black as a predominant ...

: grackles, New World blackbirds, and New World orioles :::* Calyptophilidae: chat-tanagers :::*

Zeledoniidae The wrenthrush (''Zeledonia coronata'') or zeledonia, is a unique species of nine-primaried oscine, endemic to the Talamancan montane forests. Taxonomy and systematics The wrenthrush is the only member of its genus and family. Despite its na ...

: wrenthrush :::* Teretistridae: Cuban warblers :::* Nesospingidae: Puerto Rican tanager :::* Spindalidae: spindalises :::*

Phaenicophilidae Phaenicophilidae is a family of passerine birds. It consists of three genera and four species, all endemic to Hispaniola, which have been traditionally placed in the families Thraupidae (''Phaenicophilus'') and Parulidae (''Xenoligea'', ''Microl ...

: Hispaniolan tanagers

Phylogeny

Relationships between living Passeriformes families based on the phylogenetic analysis of Oliveros et al (2019). Some terminals have been renamed to reflect families recognised by the IOC but not in that study. The IOC families Alcippeidae and Teretistridae were not sampled in this study.

Explanatory notes

References

External links

* * * {{Authority control Extant Eocene first appearances Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus