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More About Passerines - Other ...
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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 most successful of the mammal orders, the Rodentia.
The group gets its name from the Latin name for the House Sparrow, Passer domesticus.
Many passerines are songbirds and have complex muscles to control their syrinx; all of them 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 crow, do not sound like it). Most passerines are smaller than typical members of other avian orders.
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 which, it is now known, 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 another (the Corvida, or crow-like birds), or more likely as a subgroup of the Corvida, 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.
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Taxonmony
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Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Passeriformes
Family:
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Source: Wikipedia Read more about Passerines - Other
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INFO LINKS
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Hypocolius
Bird Families of the World - Dan Roberson
Details about the Hypocoliidae family including pictures and good print references Read More
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Kinglet
Bird Families of the World - Dan Roberson
Details about the Regulidae family including pictures and good print references Read More
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Rockfowl
Bird Families of the World - Dan Roberson
Details about the Picathartidae family including pictures and good print references Read More
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Logrunner
Bird Families of the World - Dan Roberson
Details about the Orthonychidae family including pictures and good print references Read More
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Sunbird
Bird Families of the World - Dan Roberson
Details about the Nectariniidae family including pictures and good print references Read More
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Thrasher
Bird Families of the World - Dan Roberson
Details about the Mimidae family including pictures and good print references Read More
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Oxpecker
Bird Families of the World - Dan Roberson
Details about the Buphagidae family including pictures and good print references Read More
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Waxwing
Bird Families of the World - Dan Roberson
Details about the Bombycillidae family including pictures and good print references Read More
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Fairy-Bluebird
Bird Families of the World - Dan Roberson
Details about the Irenidae family including pictures and good print references Read More
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North Island kokako
Kiwi Wildlife Tours
Brief description of North Island kokako Read More
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Saddleback
Kiwi Wildlife Tours
Brief description of Saddleback Read More
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Tui
Kiwi Wildlife Tours
Brief description of Tui Read More
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Lyrebird
Unique Australian Animals
Categorized information on Lyrebird including description, habitat, feeding, etc. Has nice pictures, too. Read More
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Wattlebird
TerraNature
Three unique wattlebirds, the kokako, saddleback and huia are part of the ancient Callaeidae family. They are thought to have been wind blown immigrants, together with two other distinctive families of New Zealand land birds, wrens and native thrushes, during the Paleocene 60 million years ago. These three families are not found in any other part of the world. Read More
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common starling
Les Oiseaux du Québec (French)
About common starling Read More
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Cedar Waxwing
Les Oiseaux du Québec (French)
About Cedar Waxwing Read More
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Eastern Kingbird
Les Oiseaux du Québec (French)
About Eastern Kingbird Read More
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Black-Tailed Gnatcatcher
Bird Friends Of Lake Murray And San Diego County
Black-Tailed Gnatcatcher pictures, description, and more Read More
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Blue-Gray Gnatcatcher
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Blue-Gray Gnatcatcher pictures, description, and more Read More
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Brown Thrasher
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Brown Thrasher pictures, description, and more Read More
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California Gnatcatcher
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California Gnatcatcher pictures, description, and more Read More
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California Thrasher
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California Thrasher pictures, description, and more Read More
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Cassin's Kingbird
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Cassin's Kingbird pictures, description, and more Read More
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Cedar Waxwing
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Cedar Waxwing pictures, description, and more Read More
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European Starling
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European Starling pictures, description, and more Read More
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Golden-Crowned Kinglet
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Golden-Crowned Kinglet pictures, description, and more Read More
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Greater Pewee
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Greater Pewee pictures, description, and more Read More
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Northern Mockingbird
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Northern Mockingbird pictures, description, and more Read More
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Phainopepla
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Ruby-Crowned Kinglet
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Ruby-Crowned Kinglet pictures, description, and more Read More
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Sage Thrasher
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Thick-Billed Kingbird
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Verdin
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Verdin pictures, description, and more Read More
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Western Kingbird
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Western Wood-Pewee
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White-Rumped Shama
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