Overview
Taxonomy
The Parvorder Passerida is further organized into finer groupings including:
- Series (1): Amniota
- Family (21): Aegithalidae · Alaudidae · Bombycillidae · Certhiidae · Cinclidae · Cisticolidae · Fringillidae · Hirundinidae · Hypocoliidae · Melanocharitidae · Muscicapidae · Nectariniidae · Paramythiidae · Paridae · Passeridae · Pycnonotidae · Regulidae · Sittidae · Sturnidae · Sylviidae · Zosteropidae < /li>
Families
Aegithalidae
The long-tailed tits or bushtits, Aegithalidae, are a family of small passerine birds. The family contains 13 species in four genera. [more]
Alaudidae
Larks are passerine birds of the family Alaudidae. All species occur in the Old World, and in northern and eastern Australia; only one, the Shore Lark, has spread to North America, where it is called the Horned Lark. Habitats vary widely, but many species live in dry regions. [more]
Bombycillidae
The waxwings form the genus Bombycilla of passerine birds. According to most authorities, this is the only genus placed in the family Bombycillidae. [more]
Certhiidae
The treecreepers are a family, Certhiidae, of small passerine birds, widespread in wooded regions of the Northern Hemisphere and sub-Saharan Africa. The family contains ten species in two genera, Certhia and Salpornis. Their plumage is dull-colored, and as their name implies, they climb over the surface of trees in search of food. [more]
Cinclidae
Dippers are members of the genus Cinclus in the bird family Cinclidae, named for their bobbing or dipping movements. They are unique among passerines for their ability to dive and swim underwater. [more]
Cisticolidae
The Cisticolidae family of small passerine birds is a group of about 110 warblers found mainly in warmer southern regions of the Old World. They are often included within the Old World warbler family Sylviidae. [more]
Fringillidae
Hirundinidae
The swallows and martins are a group of passerine birds in the family Hirundinidae which are characterised by their adaptation to aerial feeding. Swallow is used colloquially in Europe as a synonym for the Barn Swallow. [more]
Hypocoliidae
A Family in the Kingdom Animalia.[1] [more]
Melanocharitidae
The Melanocharitidae, the berrypeckers and longbills, is a small bird family restricted to the forests of New Guinea. The family contains ten species in four (sometimes three) genera. They are small songbirds with generally dull plumage but a range of body shapes. [more]
Muscicapidae
The Old World flycatcher family Muscicapidae is a large family of small passerine birds mostly restricted to the Old World. These are mainly small arboreal insectivores, many of which, as the name implies, take their prey on the wing. [more]
Nectariniidae
The sunbirds and spiderhunters are a family, Nectariniidae, of very small passerine birds. There are 132 species in 15 genera. The family is distributed throughout Africa, the Indian Subcontinent, Southeast Asia and just reaches northern Australia. Most sunbirds feed largely on nectar, but also take insects and spiders, especially when feeding young. Flower tubes that bar access to nectar because of their shape, are simply punctured at the base near the nectaries. Fruit is also part of the diet of some species. Their flight is fast and direct on their short wings. [more]
Paramythiidae
The painted berrypeckers, Paramythiidae, are a very small bird family restricted to the mountain forests of New Guinea. The family comprises two species in two genera: the Tit Berrypecker (Oreocharis arfaki) and the Crested Berrypecker (Paramythia montium). These are colorful medium-sized birds which feed on fruit and some insects. These species were formerly included in the Dicaeidae, but DNA-DNA hybridization studies showed these species were related to each other but distinct from the flowerpeckers. Some sources [1] group painted berrypeckers as two genera belonging to the berrypecker family Melanocharitidae. [more]
Paridae
The tits, chickadees, and titmice constitute Paridae, a large family of small passerine birds which occur in the northern hemisphere and Africa. Most were formerly classified in the genus Parus. [more]
Passeridae
Pycnonotidae
Bulbuls are a family, Pycnonotidae, of medium-sized passerine songbirds. Many forest species are known as greenbuls. The family is distributed across most of Africa and into the Middle East, tropical Asia to Indonesia, and north as far as Japan. A few insular species occur on the tropical islands of the Indian Ocean There are about 130 species in around 24 genera. While some species are found in most habitats, overall African species are predominately found in rainforest whilst rainforest species are rare in Asia, instead preferring more open areas. The only Bulbul which occurs in Europe was spotted in the Cyclades and bears a yellow patch, being otherwise of a snuffy brown and this is possibly the bird which has got mixed up with the nightingale in Sufi, particularly Persian Sufi, poetry. [more]
Regulidae
The kinglets or crests are a small group of birds sometimes included in the Old World warblers, but are frequently given family status because they also resemble the titmice. The scientific name Regulidae is derived from the Latin word regulus for "petty king" or prince, and comes from the colored crowns of adult birds. This family has representatives in North America and Eurasia. There are seven species in this family; one, the Madeira Firecrest, Regulus madeirensis, was only recently split from Common Firecrest as a separate species. One species, the Ruby-crowned Kinglet, differs sufficiently in its voice and plumage to occasionally be afforded its own genus, Corthylio. [more]
Sittidae
The nuthatches are 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. Most species exhibit grey or bluish upperparts and a black eye stripe. [more]
Sturnidae
Starlings are small to medium-sized passerine birds in the family Sturnidae. The name "Sturnidae" comes from the Latin word for starling, sturnus. Many Asian species, particularly the larger ones, are called mynas, and many African species are known as glossy starlings because of their iridescent plumage. Starlings occur naturally in the Old World, from Europe, Asia and Africa, to northern Australia and the islands of the tropical Pacific. Several European and Asian species have been introduced to these areas as well as North America, Hawaii and New Zealand, where they generally compete for habitat with native birds and are considered to be invasive species. The starling species familiar to most people in Europe and North America is the European Starling, and throughout much of Asia and the Pacific the Common Myna is indeed common. [more]
Sylviidae
Sylviidae is a family of passerine birds that was part of an assemblage known as the Old World warblers. The family was formerly a wastebin taxon with over 400 species of bird in over 70 genera. The family was poorly defined with many characteristics shared with other families. Advances in classification, particularly helped with molecular data, have led to the splitting out of several new families from within this group. Today the smaller family Sylviidae includes the typical warblers in the genus Sylvia, the parrotbills of Asia (formerly a separate family Paradoxornithidae), a number of babblers formerly placed within the family Timaliidae (which is itself currently being split) and the Wrentit, an unusual North American bird that has been a longstanding taxonomic mystery. [more]
Zosteropidae
The white-eyes are 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 western Pacific Ocean, and the Gulf of Guinea. Discounting some widespread members of the genus Zosterops, most species are endemic to single islands or archipelagos. The Silvereye, Zosterops lateralis, naturally colonised New Zealand, where it is known as the "Wax-eye" or Tauhau ("stranger"), from 1855. The Silvereye has also been introduced to the Society Islands in French Polynesia, while the Japanese White-eye has been introduced to Hawaii. [more]
At least 306 species and subspecies belong to the Family Zosteropidae.
More info about the Family Zosteropidae may be found here.
Footnotes
Sources
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