Passerida

Belongs within: Passerides.
Contains: Nectariniidae, Dicaeidae, Chloropsis, Ploceidae, Viduidae, Estrildidae, Prunella, Passeridae, Motacillidae, Fringillidae, Emberizoidea.

The Passerida (used here in the restricted sense of Oliveros et al., 2019, equivalent to the Passeroidea of other authors) is a clade of passerine birds recognised by molecular analyses. The core of the Passeroidea is the nine-primaried oscines, a group of passerines characterised by the possession of nine rather than ten primary wing feathers. The nine-primaried oscines also include a large proportion of the granivorous passerines.

Basal members of the Passerida retaining the tenth primary include Promerops, the Nectariniidae, Dicaeidae, Chloropsis and Irena. Promerops, the sugarbirds, is a genus of long-tailed, nectarivorous birds found in southern Africa. Recent phylogenetic analyses have identified a relationship between the sugarbirds and an eastern African group of small thrush-like birds that has been recognised as the Modulatricidae.

<==Passerida [Passeroidea, Tanagridae]OF19
    |--+--Promerops Brisson 1760BKB15, B94 [incl. Ptiloturus Swainson 1836B94; Promeropidae, Promeropinae, Ptiloturidae]
    |  |    |--*P. caferB94
    |  |    `--P. gurneyiBKB15
    |  `--ModulatricidaeAP21
    |       |--+--Arcanator orostruthusBKB15
    |       |  `--Kakamega poliothoraxBKB15
    |       `--ModulatrixBKB15
    |            |--M. orostruthusJT12
    |            `--M. stictigulaBKB15
    `--+--+--NectariniidaeBKB15
       |  `--DicaeidaeBKB15
       `--+--+--ChloropsisOF19
          |  `--Irena Horsfield 1821B94 [IrenidaeBKB15]
          |       |--I. cyanogastraBKB15
          |       |    |--I. c. cyanogastraL03
          |       |    `--I. c. ellae Steere 1890L03
          |       `--I. puellaBKB15
          `--+--Peucedramus Henshaw 1875B94 [PeucedramidaeBKB15, Peucedraminae]
             |    `--P. taeniatusBKB15
             `--+--Urocynchramus Przewalski 1876B94 [UrocynchramidaeOF19, Urocynchraminae]
                |    `--U. pylzowiBKB15
                `--+--+--PloceidaeOF19
                   |  `--+--ViduidaeBKB15
                   |     `--EstrildidaeBKB15
                   `--+--PrunellaOF19
                      `--+--PasseridaeOF19
                         `--+--MotacillidaeOF19
                            `--+--FringillidaeOF19
                               `--EmberizoideaOF19

*Type species of generic name indicated

References

[AP21] Arlott, N., & B. van Perlo. 2021. Collins Birds of the World. William Collins.

[B94] Bock, W. J. 1994. History and nomenclature of avian family-group names. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 222: 1–281.

[BKB15] Burleigh, J. G., R. T. Kimball & E. L. Braun. 2015. Building the avian tree of life using a large-scale, sparse supermatrix. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 84: 53–63.

[JT12] Jetz, W., G. H. Thomas, J. B. Joy, K. Hartmann & A. Ø. Mooers. 2012. The global diversity of birds in space and time. Nature 491: 444–448.

[L03] LeCroy, M. 2003. Type specimens of birds in the American Museum of Natural History. Part 5. Passeriformes: Alaudidae, Hirundinidae, Motacillidae, Campephagidae, Pycnonotidae, Irenidae, Laniidae, Vangidae, Bombycillidae, Dulidae, Cinclidae, Troglodytidae, and Mimidae. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 278: 1–156.

[OF19] Oliveros, C. H., D. J. Field, D. T. Ksepka, F. K. Barker, A. Aleixo, M. J. Andersen, P. Alström, B. W. Benz, E. L. Braun, M. J. Braun, G. A. Bravo, R. T. Brumfield, R. T. Chesser, S. Claramunt, J. Cracraft, A. M. Cuervo, E. P. Derryberry, T. C. Glenn, M. G. Harvey, P. A. Hosner, L. Joseph, R. T. Kimball, A. L. Mack, C. M. Miskelly, A. T. Peterson, M. B. Robbins, F. H. Sheldon, L. F. Silveira, B. T. Smith, N. D. White, R. G. Moyle & B. C. Faircloth. 2019. Earth history and the passerine superradiation. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the USA 116 (16): 7916–7925.