Basal Passerida

Passerines

Tyranni: Suboscines

Passeri: Oscines

Passerida

Sylvioidea
Muscicapoidea and allies
Passeroidea

The 44 Orders

Paleognaths

Galloanserae

Metaves

Pelecanae

Charadriae

Passerae

Passerida

The Passerida are the sister group of the Corvida. There are several basal groups that branch off before we get to the heart of the Passerida. The taxonomy of Passerida has been changing rapidly and most current checklists lag well behind the latest research.

Exactly which families are basal Passerida is still being clarified, with families being shuffled between the Passerida and Corvida. The latest on this is the paper by Irestedt and Ohlson (2008), which makes a strong argument that several families thought to be Corvida are actually basal Passerida. Irestedt and Ohlson identified a genetic marker that seems to separate the Passerida from the Corvida. If this is correct, it means that taxonomies that rely primarly on the RAG-1 gene (e.g., Baker et al., 2004), are not entirely correct. Their paper is a reminder of the importance of using several independent genes to test taxonomic hypotheses. There are other portions of the avian tree where this standard has not yet been met; those areas are particularly subject to change.

Melanocharitoidea

Melanocharitidae: Berrypeckers

4 genera, 10 species HBW-13

Melanocharitidae tree We start with a group of New Guinea endemics that had formerly been considered Passerida, the berrypeckers (Melanocharitidae). Sibley and Monroe (1993) listed them in the Passeroidea, near the flowerpecker and sunbirds. They include the former honeyeaters Oedistoma and Toxorhamphus.

Cnemophiloidea

The satinbirds (Cnemophilidae) are the second branch moved from the Corvida. These New Guinea endemics were once considered birds-of-paradise (Paradisaeidae), but now have their own family.

Cnemophilidae: Satinbirds

2 genera, 3 species Not HBW Family

Callaeoidea

After two groups of New Guinea endemics, it's time for a change. The Callaeoidea are New Zealand endemics. They include the New Zealand wattlebirds (Callaeidae) and the stitchbird (Notiomystidae). The monotypic stitchbird was previously considered a honeyeater, but is actually most closely related to the wattlebirds (Ewen et al., 2006; Driskell et al., 2007). The division between the Stitchbird and other families in its clade seems quite ancient, so it is given its own family.

Notiomystidae: Stitchbird

1 genus, 1 species HBW-14

Callaeidae: New Zealand Wattlebirds

3 genera, 5 species HBW-14

The three wattlebird genera apparently diverged almost simultaneously (Shepherd and Lambert, 2007), and are treated as a trichotomy.

Following OSNZ, IOC, and HBW-14, the Kokako, Callaeas cinereus, is split into North Island Kokako, Callaeas wilsoni, and the recently extinct South Island Kokako, Callaeas cinereus. See also Double and Murphy (2002). Further, the Saddleback, Philesturnus carunculatus is split into North Island Saddleback, Philesturnus rufusater, and South Island Saddleback, Philesturnus carunculatus.

Petroicoidea

Petroicidae tree The next group is yet another Australasian group, the Australasian robins (Petroicidae). The genetic studies that have been done have been somewhat equivocal on its placement—whether it goes before or after the Picathartoidea. Jønsson and Fjeldså (2006a) argue that placing it first makes the best sense both genetically and biogeographically. Genetically, the rest of the Passerida share an insertion in the nuclear c-myc gene that the Petroicidae lack (Ericson et al., 2000). The biogeographic sense is that all of the Petroicidae are Australasian. It seems unlikely the remaining Passerida would develop in Africa (the Picathartoidea), then suddenly jump back to Australia before returning to Africa. Using a different set of genes, Irestedt and Ohlson (2008) also put the Australasian robins before the Picathartoidea.

Differences from standard arrangments are based on Loynes et al. (2009). Some information from Miller and Lambert (2006) has been included for Petroica itself. Following Loynes et al., Tregellasia has been merged into Eopsaltria and the Yellow-bellied Robin has moved from Eopsaltria to Microeca. Surprisingly, they found Peneoenanthe nested in Peneothello. Although they were relectant to recommend merging them, I've done so here. Several genera, Eugerygone, Monachella, and Amalocichla, were not included in their analysis. In the case of Amalocichla we are able to turn to the Norman et al. (2009b). It shows that the Amalocichla must be more basal than the other Petroicidae that have been tested. Unfortunately, they somehow forgot to include any members of Passerida outside of Petroicidae. Apparently they were too fixated on the corvids. This lapse means that we can't be certain that Amalocichla belongs in Petroicidae! They didn't rule out the possibility of it being close to Passer domesticus or the Stitchbird. However, all of the other alternatives seem fairly unlikely, and we retain it in Petroicidae, but mark it as a bit uncertain on the tree.

Petroicidae: Australasian Robins

11 genera, 46 species HBW-12

Picathartoidea

The Picathartoidea are the next group to branch off separately from the Passerida tree, and did they ever branch! Somewhere in the gap between the Petroicoidea and Picathartoidea the passerids made the leap out of Australasia all the way to Africa. Which way they went, we are not sure. They may have come across the now-submerged Kerguelen Plateau. The Picathartoidea (rockfowl and rockjumpers) are both African endemics. They were considered Incertae sedis by Sibley and Monroe (1993) and there has been some discussion about whether they are best considered a corvid relative or part of Passerida. Several recent papers have made the case for placing them here (Barker et al., 2004; Beresford et al., 2005; Cracraft et al., 2004; Irestedt and Ohlson, 2008). Of course, once we have placed the Petroicidae in the Passerida, the choice is forced, Picathartoidea must also be in the Passerida. Recent research by Jønsson et al. (2007) found that the rail-babbler belongs in the same clade. Each is distinct enough, and the genetic separation large enough, that we consider each a separate family in the Picathartoidea.

Picathartidae: Rockfowl

1 genus, 2 species HBW-12

Chaetopidae: Rockjumpers

1 genus, 2 species Not HBW Family

Eupetidae: Rail-babbler

1 genus, 1 species HBW-12

Hyliotoidea

This small group of African endemics was considered part of Sylviidae until recently. Current evidence suggests they are not particularly closely related to the Sylvioidea at all, nor do they seem particularly related to any clade in Passerida. However, they are Passerida—and more deeply so than the Australasian Robins (Fuchs et al., 2006a). So we put them here in their own superfamily.

Hyliotidae: Hyliotas

1 genus, 4 species Not HBW Family

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