The Order Passeriformes is the largest and most diverse group of birds, containing over half of all known species. From ancient New Zealand wrens and tropical antbirds to fairywrens, crows, warblers, thrushes, finches and tanagers, passerines occupy almost every habitat on Earth. Biologists recognise several major branches within the passerines, and my pages follow these … Continue reading "Section 9 – Passerines: Perching Birds"

Order: Passeriformes – Perching Birds Early passerines: New Zealand wrens, broadbills & pittas This subsection covers the earliest branches of the passerine tree. It includes the ancient New Zealand wrens, along with broadbills, asities and pittas of Africa and Asia, and the unusual Sapayoa of Central and South America, which links Old and New World … Continue reading "Section 9A – Basal Passerines & Old World Suboscines"

Order Passeriformes (Perching Birds) Antbirds, flycatchers & ovenbirds of the Americas This subsection covers a large group of passerines centred in Central and South America. It includes manakins, cotingas, tityras and tyrant flycatchers, along with the diverse antbirds, tapaculos, antpittas, and ovenbirds and woodcreepers that dominate many tropical forests and Andean habitats. These birds occupy … Continue reading "Section 9B – New World Suboscines"

Order Passeriformes (Perching Birds) Australasian early songbirds: fairywrens, honeyeaters & allies This subsection covers the earliest groups of true songbirds, centred in Australasia. It includes ancient lineages such as lyrebirds and scrub-birds, along with Australasian treecreepers and bowerbirds, followed by the large and varied groups of fairywrens, honeyeaters, thornbills, pardalotes and their close Australian–New Guinean … Continue reading "Section 9C – Australasian & Basal Oscines"

Order Passeriformes (Perching Birds) Crow lineage songbirds: Crows, Shrikes, Orioles & Allies This subsection covers the core corvoid groups and their close relatives — a large and diverse set of songbirds found across Africa, Asia, Australasia, and the Pacific. It begins with cuckooshrikes, whiteheads, boatbills and woodswallows, then moves through the African bushshrikes and vangas, … Continue reading "Section 9D – Core Corvoids & Allies"

Order Passeriformes (Perching Birds) Warbler- and thrush-like songbirds: warblers, babblers, wrens, thrushes & starlings This subsection covers the central part of the Passerida, a large group of small to medium-sized songbirds that dominate Eurasia, Africa, and many other regions. It begins with fairy-flycatchers, tits, larks and swallows, then moves through the major Old World warbler … Continue reading "Section 9E – Core Passerida: Sylvioid & Muscicapoid Songbirds"

Order Passeriformes (Perching Birds) Finch-like songbirds: finches, sparrows, pipits, New World warblers & tanagers The final subsection of the passerines covers a large and widespread group of songbirds found across Africa, Eurasia, Australasia, and the Americas. It starts with several mainly tropical nectar-feeding lineages — sugarbirds, flowerpeckers, sunbirds, leafbirds, and fairy-bluebirds — then moves into … Continue reading "Section 9F – Passeroidea: Finches, Sparrows, Tanagers and Allies"

Early‑branching ground birds with ancient lineages, many of which are poor fliers or completely flightless. This section includes the Palaeognaths — one of the oldest branches of modern birds — such as ostriches, rheas, emus, cassowaries, kiwis, and tinamous. Although tinamous can fly, they share the same deep ancestry as the large flightless ratites. It … Continue reading "Section 1 — Ratites, Tinamous & Gamebirds"