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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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American Dipper
Cornell Lab of Ornithology
Extensive species account including range map, call details, 'cool facts', etc. Read More
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Bendire's Thrasher
Cornell Lab of Ornithology
Extensive species account including range map, call details, 'cool facts', etc. Read More
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Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
Cornell Lab of Ornithology
Extensive species account including range map, call details, 'cool facts', etc. Read More
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Bluethroat
Cornell Lab of Ornithology
Extensive species account including range map, call details, 'cool facts', etc. Read More
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Bohemian Waxwing
Cornell Lab of Ornithology
Extensive species account including range map, call details, 'cool facts', etc. Read More
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Brown Thrasher
Cornell Lab of Ornithology
Extensive species account including range map, call details, 'cool facts', etc. Read More
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California Thrasher
Cornell Lab of Ornithology
Extensive species account including range map, call details, 'cool facts', etc. Read More
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Cassin's Kingbird
Cornell Lab of Ornithology
Extensive species account including range map, call details, 'cool facts', etc. Read More
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Cedar Waxwing
Cornell Lab of Ornithology
Extensive species account including range map, call details, 'cool facts', etc. Read More
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Couch's Kingbird
Cornell Lab of Ornithology
Extensive species account including range map, call details, 'cool facts', etc. Read More
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Crissal Thrasher
Cornell Lab of Ornithology
Extensive species account including range map, call details, 'cool facts', etc. Read More
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Curve-billed Thrasher
Cornell Lab of Ornithology
Extensive species account including range map, call details, 'cool facts', etc. Read More
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Eastern Kingbird
Cornell Lab of Ornithology
Extensive species account including range map, call details, 'cool facts', etc. Read More
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Eastern Wood-Pewee
Cornell Lab of Ornithology
Extensive species account including range map, call details, 'cool facts', etc. Read More
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European Starling
Cornell Lab of Ornithology
Extensive species account including range map, call details, 'cool facts', etc. Read More
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Golden-crowned Kinglet
Cornell Lab of Ornithology
Extensive species account including range map, call details, 'cool facts', etc. Read More
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Greater Pewee
Cornell Lab of Ornithology
Extensive species account including range map, call details, 'cool facts', etc. Read More
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Le Conte's Thrasher
Cornell Lab of Ornithology
Extensive species account including range map, call details, 'cool facts', etc. Read More
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Long-billed Thrasher
Cornell Lab of Ornithology
Extensive species account including range map, call details, 'cool facts', etc. Read More
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Northern Mockingbird
Cornell Lab of Ornithology
Extensive species account including range map, call details, 'cool facts', etc. Read More
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Phainopepla
Cornell Lab of Ornithology
Extensive species account including range map, call details, 'cool facts', etc. Read More
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Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Cornell Lab of Ornithology
Extensive species account including range map, call details, 'cool facts', etc. Read More
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Sage Thrasher
Cornell Lab of Ornithology
Extensive species account including range map, call details, 'cool facts', etc. Read More
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Tropical Kingbird
Cornell Lab of Ornithology
Extensive species account including range map, call details, 'cool facts', etc. Read More
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Veery
Cornell Lab of Ornithology
Extensive species account including range map, call details, 'cool facts', etc. Read More
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Verdin
Cornell Lab of Ornithology
Extensive species account including range map, call details, 'cool facts', etc. Read More
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Western Kingbird
Cornell Lab of Ornithology
Extensive species account including range map, call details, 'cool facts', etc. Read More
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Western Wood-Pewee
Cornell Lab of Ornithology
Extensive species account including range map, call details, 'cool facts', etc. Read More
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Antbird
Animals Of The Rainforest
Brief description, taxonomic information, pictures, and links Read More
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Cock-Of-The-Rock
Animals Of The Rainforest
Brief description, taxonomic information, pictures, and links Read More
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Wire-Tailed Manakin
Animals Of The Rainforest
Brief description, taxonomic information, pictures, and links Read More
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White-throated Dipper
Oiseaux.net (French)
Categorized information on White-throated Dipper including habitat, feeding habits, migration information, etc. Read More
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Common Starling
Oiseaux.net (French)
Categorized information on Common Starling including habitat, feeding habits, migration information, etc. Read More
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Bluethroat
Oiseaux.net (French)
Categorized information on Bluethroat including habitat, feeding habits, migration information, etc. Read More
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Eurasian Tree-Creeper
Oiseaux.net (French)
Categorized information on Eurasian Tree-Creeper including habitat, feeding habits, migration information, etc. Read More
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Short-toed Tree-Creeper
Oiseaux.net (French)
Categorized information on Short-toed Tree-Creeper including habitat, feeding habits, migration information, etc. Read More
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