Perching Birds
Passeriformes
A passerine () is any bird of the order Passeriformes (; from Latin passer 'sparrow' and formis '-shaped'). Sometimes known as perching birds, passerines generally have an anisodactyl arrangement of their toes (three pointing forward and one back), which facilitates perching.
With more than 140 families and some 6,500 identified species, Passeriformes is the largest order of birds and one of the most diverse clades of terrestrial vertebrates, representing 60% of birds. Passerines are divided into three suborders: New Zealand wrens; Suboscines, primarily found in North and South America; and songbirds. Passerines originated in the Southern Hemisphere around 60 million years ago.
60 branches of this order, most-observed first · about 6,656 known species
Crows, Jays, and Magpies
familyCorvidae
Finches, Euphonias, and Allies
familyFringillidae
New World Sparrows
familyPasserellidae
Thrushes
familyTurdidae
New World Blackbirds and Orioles
familyIcteridae
Tyrant Flycatchers
familyTyrannidae
New World Warblers
familyParulidae
Tits, Chickadees, and Titmice
familyParidae
Old World Flycatchers, Robins, and Chats
familyMuscicapidae
Cardinals and Allies
familyCardinalidae
Old World Sparrows
familyPasseridae
Swallows and Martins
familyHirundinidae
Starlings
familySturnidae
Tanagers and Allies
familyThraupidae
Mockingbirds and Thrashers
familyMimidae
Wagtails and Pipits
familyMotacillidae
Wrens
familyTroglodytidae
Nuthatches
familySittidae
Honeyeaters
familyMeliphagidae
Bulbuls
familyPycnonotidae
Old World Buntings
familyEmberizidae
Shrikes
familyLaniidae
Leaf Warblers
familyPhylloscopidae
Vireos, Shrike-Babblers, and Erpornis
familyVireonidae
Sylviid Warblers and Allies
familySylviidae
Kinglets
familyRegulidae
Waxwings
familyBombycillidae
Waxbills and Allies
familyEstrildidae
Larks
familyAlaudidae
Woodswallows, Butcherbirds, and Currawongs
familyArtamidae
Ovenbirds and Woodcreepers
familyFurnariidae
Long-tailed Tits and Bushtits
familyAegithalidae
Sunbirds and Spiderhunters
familyNectariniidae
Cisticolas and Allies
familyCisticolidae
Reed Warblers and Allies
familyAcrocephalidae
Weavers and Allies
familyPloceidae
Treecreepers
familyCerthiidae
Fantails
familyRhipiduridae
Gnatcatchers and Gnatwrens
familyPolioptilidae
White-eyes, Yuhinas, and Allies
familyZosteropidae
Laughingthrushes and Allies
familyLeiothrichidae
Thornbills and Allies
familyAcanthizidae
Drongos
familyDicruridae
Monarch Flycatchers
familyMonarchidae
Fairywrens and Allies
familyMaluridae
Australasian Robins
familyPetroicidae
Old World Orioles
familyOriolidae
Accentors
familyPrunellidae
Cuckooshrikes
familyCampephagidae
Typical Antbirds
familyThamnophilidae
Whistlers and Allies
familyPachycephalidae
Dippers
familyCinclidae
Penduline-Tits
familyRemizidae
Silky-flycatchers
familyPtiliogonatidae
Tityras and Allies
familyTityridae
Longspurs and Snow Buntings
familyCalcariidae
Flowerpeckers
familyDicaeidae
Bush Warblers and Allies
familyCettiidae
Cotingas
familyCotingidae
Bushshrikes and Allies
familyMalaconotidae
Where it lives
Recorded sightings
—
geo-referenced records in GBIF, from museums, herbaria and field observers.
Drag the globe to turn it. Dots are where records exist, not a range map; darker means more records.
In the stacks
Searching the stacks…
Every page naming Passeriformes in the Biodiversity Heritage Library →
This page is assembled live from iNaturalist, GBIF, Wikipedia, the Source Library and the Internet Archive. It is not yet part of the hand-edited codex. iNaturalist taxon 7251.