Passeriformes Linnaeus, 1758
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Abstract
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 are distinguished from other orders of birds by the 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 clade of birds and among the most diverse clades of terrestrial vertebrates, 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 clades: Acanthisitti (New Zealand wrens), Tyranni (suboscines), and Passeri (oscines or songbirds). The passerines contain several groups of brood parasites such as the viduas, cuckoo-finches, and the cowbirds. Most passerines are omnivorous, while the shrikes are carnivorous. The terms "passerine" and "Passeriformes" are derived from the scientific name of the house sparrow, Passer domesticus, and ultimately from the Latin term passer, which refers to sparrows and similar small birds.
Anatomy
The foot of a passerine has three toes directed forward and one toe directed backward, called anisodactyl arrangement, and the hind toe (hallux) 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 cotingas, 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 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.Stefoff, Rebecca (2008), The Bird Class, Marshall Cavendish BenchmarkBrooke, Michael and Birkhead, Tim (1991) The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Ornithology, Cambridge University Press . Most passerine birds have 12 tail feathers but the superb lyrebird has 16,Jones, D. (2008) "Flight of fancy". Australian Geographic, (89), 18–19. and several spinetails in the family Furnariidae have 10, 8, or even 6, as is the case of Des Murs's wiretail. Species adapted to tree trunk climbing such as woodcreeper and treecreepers 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.
Description
The order is divided into three suborders, Tyranni (suboscines), Passeri (oscines or songbirds), and the basal Acanthisitti. Oscines have the best control of their syrinx muscles among birds, producing a wide range of songs and other vocalizations, though some of them, such as the crows, do not sound musical to human beings. Some, such as the lyrebird, are accomplished mimics.Winkler, D. W., S. M. Billerman, and I.J. Lovette (2020). Lyrebirds (Menuridae), version 1.0. In Birds of the World (S. M. Billerman, B. K. Keeney, P. G. Rodewald, and T. S. Schulenberg, Editors). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.menuri1.01 The New Zealand wrens are tiny birds restricted to New Zealand, at least in modern times; they were long placed in Passeri. Pterylosis or the feather tracts in a typical passerine
Most passerines are smaller than typical members of other avian orders. The heaviest and altogether largest passerines are the thick-billed ravenMadge, S. (2020). Thick-billed Raven (Corvus crassirostris), version 1.0. In Birds of the World (J. del Hoyo, A. Elliott, J. Sargatal, D. A. Christie, and E. de Juana, Editors). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.thbrav1.01 and the larger races of common raven, each exceeding 1.5 kg and 70 cm. The superb lyrebird and some birds-of-paradise, due to very long tails or tail coverts, are longer overall. The smallest passerine is the short-tailed pygmy tyrant, at 6.5 cm and 4.2 g.Clock, B. (2020). Short-tailed Pygmy-Tyrant (Myiornis ecaudatus), version 1.0. In Birds of the World (J. del Hoyo, A. Elliott, J. Sargatal, D. A. Christie, and E. de Juana, Editors). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.stptyr1.01
Most passerines are smaller than typical members of other avian orders. The heaviest and altogether largest passerines are the thick-billed ravenMadge, S. (2020). Thick-billed Raven (Corvus crassirostris), version 1.0. In Birds of the World (J. del Hoyo, A. Elliott, J. Sargatal, D. A. Christie, and E. de Juana, Editors). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.thbrav1.01 and the larger races of common raven, each exceeding 1.5 kg and 70 cm. The superb lyrebird and some birds-of-paradise, due to very long tails or tail coverts, are longer overall. The smallest passerine is the short-tailed pygmy tyrant, at 6.5 cm and 4.2 g.Clock, B. (2020). Short-tailed Pygmy-Tyrant (Myiornis ecaudatus), version 1.0. In Birds of the World (J. del Hoyo, A. Elliott, J. Sargatal, D. A. Christie, and E. de Juana, Editors). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.stptyr1.01
Eggs and nests
The chicks of passerines are 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 and nightjars, where camouflage is necessary, and in some parasitic cuckoos, which match the passerine host's egg. The vinous-throated parrotbill has two egg colors, white and blue, to deter the brood parasitic common cuckoo. 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 do not build their own nests, instead, they lay eggs in other birds' nests.
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, 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 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 Gondwana (in the Southern Hemisphere) in the late Paleocene or early Eocene, around 50 million years ago. The initial split was between the New Zealand wrens (Acanthisittidae) and all other passerines (Eupasserine), and the second split involved the Tyranni (suboscines) and the Passeri (oscines or songbirds). A rupture of the Gondwanan continent caused the core split of the Eupasseres, which were divided into these groups, one in Western Gondwana (Tyranni) and the other in Eastern Gondwana (Passeri). Passeri experienced a great radiation of forms out of the Australian continent. A major branch of the Passeri, parvorder Passerida, expanded deep into Eurasia and Africa, where a further explosive radiation of new lineages occurred. This eventually led to three major Passerida lineages comprising about 4,000 species, which in addition to the Corvida 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 Male superb lyrebird (Menura novaehollandiae): This very primitive songbird shows strong sexual dimorphism, with a peculiarly apomorphic display of plumage in males.
Perching bird osteology, especially of the limb bones, is rather diagnostic. However, the early fossil record is poor because the first Passeriformes were relatively small, and their delicate bones did not preserve well. Queensland Museum specimens F20688 (carpometacarpus) and F24685 (tibiotarsus) from Murgon, Queensland, are fossil bone fragments initially assigned to Passeriformes. However, the material is too fragmentary and their affinities have been questioned. Several more recent fossils from the Oligocene of Europe, such as Wieslochia, Jamna, Resoviaornis and Crosnoornis,Bochenski, Z.M., Tomek, T., Bujoczek, M. (2021) A new passeriform (Aves: Passeriformes) from the early Oligocene of Poland sheds light on the beginnings of Suboscines. J Ornithol. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10336-021-01858-0 are more complete and definitely represent early passeriforms, although their exact position in the evolutionary tree is not known. From the Bathans Formation at the Manuherikia River in Otago, New Zealand, MNZ S42815 (a distal right tarsometatarsus 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 (Awamoan to Lillburnian, 19–16 mya).
Early European passerines Wieslochia fossil
In Europe, perching birds are not too uncommon in the fossil record from the Oligocene onward, but most are too fragmentary for a more definite placement:
Wieslochia (Early Oligocene of Frauenweiler, Germany) Resoviaornis (Early Oligocene of Wola Rafałowska, Poland) Jamna (Early Oligocene of Jamna Dolna, Poland) Winnicavis (Early Oligocene of Lower Silesian Voivodeship, Poland) Crosnoornis (Early Oligocene of Poland) 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? Cettiidae?)
That suboscines expanded much beyond their region of origin is proven by several fossil from Germany such as a broadbill (Eurylaimidae) humerus fragment from the Early Miocene (roughly 20 mya) of Wintershof, Germany, the Late Oligocene carpometacarpus 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 onwards and into the Pliocene (about 10–2 mya). Pleistocene and early Holocene lagerstätten (<1.8 mya) yield numerous extant species, and many yield almost nothing but extant species or their chronospecies and paleosubspecies.
American fossils
In the Americas, 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, United States: the Palaeoscinidae with the single genus Palaeoscinis. "Palaeostruthus" eurius (Pliocene of Florida) probably belongs to an extant family, most likely passeroidean.
Fossil record
Earliest passerines Male superb lyrebird (Menura novaehollandiae): This very primitive songbird shows strong sexual dimorphism, with a peculiarly apomorphic display of plumage in males.
Perching bird osteology, especially of the limb bones, is rather diagnostic. However, the early fossil record is poor because the first Passeriformes were relatively small, and their delicate bones did not preserve well. Queensland Museum specimens F20688 (carpometacarpus) and F24685 (tibiotarsus) from Murgon, Queensland, are fossil bone fragments initially assigned to Passeriformes. However, the material is too fragmentary and their affinities have been questioned. Several more recent fossils from the Oligocene of Europe, such as Wieslochia, Jamna, Resoviaornis and Crosnoornis,Bochenski, Z.M., Tomek, T., Bujoczek, M. (2021) A new passeriform (Aves: Passeriformes) from the early Oligocene of Poland sheds light on the beginnings of Suboscines. J Ornithol. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10336-021-01858-0 are more complete and definitely represent early passeriforms, although their exact position in the evolutionary tree is not known. From the Bathans Formation at the Manuherikia River in Otago, New Zealand, MNZ S42815 (a distal right tarsometatarsus 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 (Awamoan to Lillburnian, 19–16 mya).
Early European passerines Wieslochia fossil
In Europe, perching birds are not too uncommon in the fossil record from the Oligocene onward, but most are too fragmentary for a more definite placement:
Wieslochia (Early Oligocene of Frauenweiler, Germany) Resoviaornis (Early Oligocene of Wola Rafałowska, Poland) Jamna (Early Oligocene of Jamna Dolna, Poland) Winnicavis (Early Oligocene of Lower Silesian Voivodeship, Poland) Crosnoornis (Early Oligocene of Poland) 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? Cettiidae?)
That suboscines expanded much beyond their region of origin is proven by several fossil from Germany such as a broadbill (Eurylaimidae) humerus fragment from the Early Miocene (roughly 20 mya) of Wintershof, Germany, the Late Oligocene carpometacarpus 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 onwards and into the Pliocene (about 10–2 mya). Pleistocene and early Holocene lagerstätten (<1.8 mya) yield numerous extant species, and many yield almost nothing but extant species or their chronospecies and paleosubspecies.
American fossils
In the Americas, 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, 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 (New Zealand wrens), Tyranni (suboscines) and Passeri (oscines or songbirds). The Passeri is now subdivided into two major groups recognized now as Corvides and Passerida 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, literally, dozens of studies have investigated the phylogeny of the Passeriformes and found that many families from Australasia 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 warblers and Old World babblers have turned out to be paraphyletic and are being rearranged. Several taxa turned out to represent highly distinct lineages, so new families had to be established, some of them – like the stitchbird of New Zealand and the Eurasian bearded reedling – monotypic 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 example here and here . In the Passeri alone, a number of minor lineages will eventually be recognized as distinct superfamilies. For example, the kinglets 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 them have been found among comprehensive studies of the living Passeri, though they might be fairly close to some little-studied tropical Asian groups. Nuthatches, wrens, and their closest relatives are currently grouped in a distinct super-family Certhioidea.
Taxonomic list of Passeriformes families
New Zealand rock wren (Xenicus gilviventris), one of the two surviving species of suborder Acanthisitti
This list is in taxonomic order, placing related families next to one another. The families listed are those recognised by the International Ornithologists' Union (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: New Zealand wrens
Javan banded pitta (Hydrornis guajanus), an Old World suboscine.
Andean cock-of-the-rock (Rupicola peruvianus) a New World suboscine
Suborder Tyranni (suboscines) Infraorder Eurylaimides: Old World suboscines Infraorder Tyrannides: New World suboscines Parvorder Furnariida Parvorder Tyrannida
Suborder Passeri (oscines or songbirds) Male stitchbird or hihi (Notiomystis cincta) showing convergence with honeyeaters
Atrichornithidae: scrub-birds Menuridae: lyrebirds Climacteridae: Australian treecreepers Ptilonorhynchidae: bowerbirds Maluridae: fairywrens, emu-wrens and grasswrens Dasyornithidae: bristlebirds Pardalotidae: pardalotes Acanthizidae: scrubwrens, thornbills, and gerygones Meliphagidae: honeyeaters Pomatostomidae: pseudo-babblers Orthonychidae: logrunners
Male regent bowerbird (Sericulus chrysocephalus, Ptilonorhynchidae)
Infraorder Corvides – previously known as the parvorder Corvida
Cinclosomatidae: jewel-babblers, quail-thrushes Campephagidae: cuckooshrikes and trillers Mohouidae: whiteheads Neosittidae: sittellas Superfamily Orioloidea
Psophodidae: whipbirds Eulacestomidae: wattled ploughbills Falcunculidae: shriketit Oreoicidae: Australo-Papuan bellbirds Paramythiidae: painted berrypeckers Vireonidae: vireos Pachycephalidae: whistlers Oriolidae: Old World orioles and figbirds Superfamily Malaconotoidea
Tiny goldcrest (Regulus regulus) belongs to a minor but highly distinct lineage of Passeri
Machaerirhynchidae: boatbills Artamidae: woodswallows, butcherbirds, currawongs, and Australian magpie Rhagologidae: mottled berryhunter Malaconotidae: puffback shrikes, bush shrikes, tchagras, and boubous Pityriaseidae: bristlehead Aegithinidae: ioras Platysteiridae: wattle-eyes and batises Vangidae: vangas Superfamily Corvoidea
Rhipiduridae: fantails Dicruridae: drongos Monarchidae: monarch flycatchers Ifritidae: blue-capped ifrit Paradisaeidae: birds-of-paradise Corcoracidae: white-winged chough and apostlebird Melampittidae: melampittas Laniidae: shrikes Platylophidae: jayshrike Corvidae: crows, ravens, and jays
Reed warblers, such as this Blyth's reed warbler (Acrocephalus dumetorum), are now in the Acrocephalidae
Infraorder Passerides – previously known as the parvorder Passerida
Cnemophilidae: satinbirds Melanocharitidae: berrypeckers and longbills Callaeidae: New Zealand wattlebirds Notiomystidae: stitchbird Petroicidae: Australian robins Eupetidae: rail-babbler Picathartidae: rockfowl Chaetopidae: rock-jumpers
Eurasian blue tit (Cyanistes caeruleus) and its relatives stand well apart from rest of the Sylvioidea sensu lato
Parvorder Sylviida – previously known as the superfamily Sylviodea
Hyliotidae: hyliotas Stenostiridae: fairy flycatchers Paridae: tits, chickadees and titmice Remizidae: penduline tits Panuridae: bearded reedling Alaudidae: larks Nicatoridae: nicators Macrosphenidae: crombecs and African warblers Cisticolidae: cisticolas and allies
Brown-headed nuthatch (Sitta pusilla), nuthatches can climb downwards head-first
Superfamily Locustelloidea
Acrocephalidae: reed warblers, Grauer's warbler and allies Locustellidae: grassbirds and allies Donacobiidae: black-capped donacobius Bernieridae: Malagasy warblers — Pnoepygidae: wren-babblers Hirundinidae: swallows and martins
Hermit thrush (Catharus guttatus), like many Muscicapoidea a stout and cryptic bird with complex vocalizations.
Superfamily Sylvioidea
Pycnonotidae: bulbuls Sylviidae: sylviid babblers Paradoxornithidae: parrotbills and myzornis Zosteropidae: white-eyes Timaliidae: tree babblers Leiothrichidae: laughingthrushes and allies Alcippeidae: Alcippe fulvettas Pellorneidae: ground babblers
Like these male (right) and female Gouldian finches (Erythrura gouldiae), many Passeroidea are very colorful
Superfamily Aegithaloidea
Phylloscopidae: leaf-warblers and allies Hyliidae: hylias Aegithalidae: long-tailed tits or bushtits Scotocercidae: streaked scrub warbler Cettiidae: Cettia bush warblers and allies Erythrocercidae: yellow flycatchers
Lesser striped swallow (Cecropis abyssinica), showing some apomorphies of its ancient yet highly advanced lineage.
Parvorder Muscicapida – previously known as the superfamily Muscicapoidea
Superfamily Bombycilloidea
Dulidae: palmchat Bombycillidae: waxwings Ptiliogonatidae: silky flycatchers Hylocitreidae: hylocitrea Hypocoliidae: hypocolius Mohoidae: oos
Gran Canaria blue chaffinch (male)
Superfamily Muscicapoidea
Elachuridae: spotted elachura Cinclidae: dippers Muscicapidae: Old World flycatchers and chats Turdidae: 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 Polioptilidae: gnatcatchers Troglodytidae: wrens Parvorder Passerida – previously known as the superfamily Passeroidea
Promeropidae: sugarbirds Modulatricidae: dapple-throat and allies Nectariniidae: sunbirds Dicaeidae: flowerpeckers Chloropseidae: leafbirds Irenidae: fairy-bluebirds Peucedramidae: olive warbler Urocynchramidae: Przewalski's finch Ploceidae: weavers Viduidae: indigobirds and whydahs Estrildidae: waxbills, munias and allies Prunellidae: accentors Passeridae: Old World sparrows and snowfinches Motacillidae: wagtails and pipits Fringillidae: finches and euphonias Superfamily Emberizoidea – previously known as the New World nine-primaried oscines
Rhodinocichlidae: rosy thrush-tanager Calcariidae: longspurs and snow buntings Emberizidae: buntings Cardinalidae: cardinals Mitrospingidae: mitrospingid tanagers Thraupidae: tanagers and allies Passerellidae: New World sparrows, bush tanagers Parulidae: New World warblers Icteriidae: yellow-breasted chat Icteridae: grackles, New World blackbirds, and New World orioles Calyptophilidae: chat-tanagers Zeledoniidae: wrenthrush Teretistridae: Cuban warblers Nesospingidae: Puerto Rican tanager Spindalidae: spindalises Phaenicophilidae: 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.
This list is in taxonomic order, placing related families next to one another. The families listed are those recognised by the International Ornithologists' Union (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: New Zealand wrens
Javan banded pitta (Hydrornis guajanus), an Old World suboscine.
Andean cock-of-the-rock (Rupicola peruvianus) a New World suboscine
Suborder Tyranni (suboscines) Infraorder Eurylaimides: Old World suboscines Infraorder Tyrannides: New World suboscines Parvorder Furnariida Parvorder Tyrannida
Suborder Passeri (oscines or songbirds) Male stitchbird or hihi (Notiomystis cincta) showing convergence with honeyeaters
Atrichornithidae: scrub-birds Menuridae: lyrebirds Climacteridae: Australian treecreepers Ptilonorhynchidae: bowerbirds Maluridae: fairywrens, emu-wrens and grasswrens Dasyornithidae: bristlebirds Pardalotidae: pardalotes Acanthizidae: scrubwrens, thornbills, and gerygones Meliphagidae: honeyeaters Pomatostomidae: pseudo-babblers Orthonychidae: logrunners
Male regent bowerbird (Sericulus chrysocephalus, Ptilonorhynchidae)
Infraorder Corvides – previously known as the parvorder Corvida
Cinclosomatidae: jewel-babblers, quail-thrushes Campephagidae: cuckooshrikes and trillers Mohouidae: whiteheads Neosittidae: sittellas Superfamily Orioloidea
Psophodidae: whipbirds Eulacestomidae: wattled ploughbills Falcunculidae: shriketit Oreoicidae: Australo-Papuan bellbirds Paramythiidae: painted berrypeckers Vireonidae: vireos Pachycephalidae: whistlers Oriolidae: Old World orioles and figbirds Superfamily Malaconotoidea
Tiny goldcrest (Regulus regulus) belongs to a minor but highly distinct lineage of Passeri
Machaerirhynchidae: boatbills Artamidae: woodswallows, butcherbirds, currawongs, and Australian magpie Rhagologidae: mottled berryhunter Malaconotidae: puffback shrikes, bush shrikes, tchagras, and boubous Pityriaseidae: bristlehead Aegithinidae: ioras Platysteiridae: wattle-eyes and batises Vangidae: vangas Superfamily Corvoidea
Rhipiduridae: fantails Dicruridae: drongos Monarchidae: monarch flycatchers Ifritidae: blue-capped ifrit Paradisaeidae: birds-of-paradise Corcoracidae: white-winged chough and apostlebird Melampittidae: melampittas Laniidae: shrikes Platylophidae: jayshrike Corvidae: crows, ravens, and jays
Reed warblers, such as this Blyth's reed warbler (Acrocephalus dumetorum), are now in the Acrocephalidae
Infraorder Passerides – previously known as the parvorder Passerida
Cnemophilidae: satinbirds Melanocharitidae: berrypeckers and longbills Callaeidae: New Zealand wattlebirds Notiomystidae: stitchbird Petroicidae: Australian robins Eupetidae: rail-babbler Picathartidae: rockfowl Chaetopidae: rock-jumpers
Eurasian blue tit (Cyanistes caeruleus) and its relatives stand well apart from rest of the Sylvioidea sensu lato
Parvorder Sylviida – previously known as the superfamily Sylviodea
Hyliotidae: hyliotas Stenostiridae: fairy flycatchers Paridae: tits, chickadees and titmice Remizidae: penduline tits Panuridae: bearded reedling Alaudidae: larks Nicatoridae: nicators Macrosphenidae: crombecs and African warblers Cisticolidae: cisticolas and allies
Brown-headed nuthatch (Sitta pusilla), nuthatches can climb downwards head-first
Superfamily Locustelloidea
Acrocephalidae: reed warblers, Grauer's warbler and allies Locustellidae: grassbirds and allies Donacobiidae: black-capped donacobius Bernieridae: Malagasy warblers — Pnoepygidae: wren-babblers Hirundinidae: swallows and martins
Hermit thrush (Catharus guttatus), like many Muscicapoidea a stout and cryptic bird with complex vocalizations.
Superfamily Sylvioidea
Pycnonotidae: bulbuls Sylviidae: sylviid babblers Paradoxornithidae: parrotbills and myzornis Zosteropidae: white-eyes Timaliidae: tree babblers Leiothrichidae: laughingthrushes and allies Alcippeidae: Alcippe fulvettas Pellorneidae: ground babblers
Like these male (right) and female Gouldian finches (Erythrura gouldiae), many Passeroidea are very colorful
Superfamily Aegithaloidea
Phylloscopidae: leaf-warblers and allies Hyliidae: hylias Aegithalidae: long-tailed tits or bushtits Scotocercidae: streaked scrub warbler Cettiidae: Cettia bush warblers and allies Erythrocercidae: yellow flycatchers
Lesser striped swallow (Cecropis abyssinica), showing some apomorphies of its ancient yet highly advanced lineage.
Parvorder Muscicapida – previously known as the superfamily Muscicapoidea
Superfamily Bombycilloidea
Dulidae: palmchat Bombycillidae: waxwings Ptiliogonatidae: silky flycatchers Hylocitreidae: hylocitrea Hypocoliidae: hypocolius Mohoidae: oos
Gran Canaria blue chaffinch (male)
Superfamily Muscicapoidea
Elachuridae: spotted elachura Cinclidae: dippers Muscicapidae: Old World flycatchers and chats Turdidae: 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 Polioptilidae: gnatcatchers Troglodytidae: wrens Parvorder Passerida – previously known as the superfamily Passeroidea
Promeropidae: sugarbirds Modulatricidae: dapple-throat and allies Nectariniidae: sunbirds Dicaeidae: flowerpeckers Chloropseidae: leafbirds Irenidae: fairy-bluebirds Peucedramidae: olive warbler Urocynchramidae: Przewalski's finch Ploceidae: weavers Viduidae: indigobirds and whydahs Estrildidae: waxbills, munias and allies Prunellidae: accentors Passeridae: Old World sparrows and snowfinches Motacillidae: wagtails and pipits Fringillidae: finches and euphonias Superfamily Emberizoidea – previously known as the New World nine-primaried oscines
Rhodinocichlidae: rosy thrush-tanager Calcariidae: longspurs and snow buntings Emberizidae: buntings Cardinalidae: cardinals Mitrospingidae: mitrospingid tanagers Thraupidae: tanagers and allies Passerellidae: New World sparrows, bush tanagers Parulidae: New World warblers Icteriidae: yellow-breasted chat Icteridae: grackles, New World blackbirds, and New World orioles Calyptophilidae: chat-tanagers Zeledoniidae: wrenthrush Teretistridae: Cuban warblers Nesospingidae: Puerto Rican tanager Spindalidae: spindalises Phaenicophilidae: 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.