font settings

Font Size: Large | Normal | Small
Font Face: Verdana | Geneva | Georgia

Passeroidea

(Superfamily)

Overview

[ Back to top ]
A Superfamily in the Kingdom Animalia.

Photos

[ Back to top ]

Taxonomy

[ Back to top ]

The Superfamily Passeroidea is a member of the Series Amniota. Here is the complete "parentage" of Passeroidea:

The Superfamily Passeroidea is further organized into finer groupings including:

Families

[ Back to top ]

Alaudidae

Larks are birds of the family Alaudidae. All species occur in the Old World, including 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]

Fringillidae

The true finches are birds in the family Fringillidae. They are predominantly seed-eating songbirds. Most are native to Southern Hemisphere, but one subfamily is endemic to the Neotropics, one to the Hawaiian Islands, and one subfamily – monotypic at genus level – is found only in the Palaearctic. The scientific name Fringillidae comes from the Latin word fringilla for the Chaffinch (Fringilla coelebs) – a member of that last subfamily – which is common in Europe. [more]

Melanocharitidae

The Melanocharitidae, the berrypeckers and longbills, is a small family restricted to the forests of New Guinea. The family was once placed inside the Flowerpecker family Dicaeidae, and the longbills were once considered to be honeyeaters (which they closely resemble). It comprises ten species in two genera, the Melanocharis berrypeckers and the Toxorhamphus. There is some confusion with the common names, as there are two other berrypecker species in the tiny family Paramythiidae, once considered to be close to the flowerpeckers as well; and several Old World warbler genera in Africa also known as longbills. The Spotted Berrypecker was once attributed its own genus Rhamphocharis. [more]

Nectariniidae

The sunbirds and spiderhunters are a , Nectariniidae, of very small passerine birds. There are 132 species in 15 genera. The family is distributed throughout Africa, southern Asia and just reaches northern Australia. Most sunbirds feed largely on nectar, although they will also take insects, especially when feeding young. 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 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. [more]

Passeridae

True sparrows, the sparrows in the family Passeridae, are small passerine birds. As eight or more species nest in or near buildings, and the House Sparrow and Eurasian Tree Sparrow in particular inhabit cities in large numbers, sparrows may be the most familiar of all wild birds. [more]

At least 1,161 species and subspecies belong to the Family Passeridae.

More info about the Family Passeridae may be found here.

Sources

[ Back to top ]
Last Revised: September 22, 2009
2009/09/22 11:34:44