A passerine is a bird of the order Passeriformes, which includes more than half of all bird species. Sometimes known as perching birds or, less accurately, as songbirds, the passerines form one of the most diverse terrestrial vertebrate orders: it is roughly twice as diverse as the largest of the mammal orders, the Rodentia.
The names "passerines" and "Passeriformes" are derived from Passer domesticus, the scientific name of the type species – th...
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A passerine is a bird of the order Passeriformes, which includes more than half of all bird species. Sometimes known as perching birds or, less accurately, as songbirds, the passerines form one of the most diverse terrestrial vertebrate orders: it is roughly twice as diverse as the largest of the mammal orders, the Rodentia.
The names "passerines" and "Passeriformes" are derived from Passer domesticus, the scientific name of the type species – the house sparrow – and ultimately from the Latin term passer for true sparrows and similar small birds.
Many passerines are songbirds and have complex muscles to control the syrinx; many gape in the nest as infants to beg for food.
The order is divided into three suborders, Tyranni (suboscines), Passeri (oscines), and the basal Acanthisitti. Oscines have the best control of their syrinx muscles among birds, producing a wide range of songs and other vocalizations (though some of them, such as the crows, do not sound musical to human beings);...
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