Near passerine

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Near passerine or higher land-bird assemblage are terms often given to arboreal birds or those most often believed to be related to the true passerines (order Passeriformes) due to ecological similarities; the group corresponds to some extent with the Anomalogonatae of Garrod (1874)^{[citation needed]}. All near passerines are land birds. Whether all of these orders represent relatives of the Passeriformes is uncertain, but not well-supported by more recent data; however the bulk of evidence supports the hypothesis that most do indeed form a clade that also includes the Passeriformes. In addition, it is now becoming increasingly clear that "near passerines" and "higher landbirds" are not synonymous, but that the former is more probably a subclade of the latter, and that the latter also includes groups like Falconiformes^{[citation needed]}

The near passerines traditionally comprise the following orders^{[citation needed]}:

• Pterocliformes
• Columbiformes
• Psittaciformes
• Cuculiformes
• Strigiformes
• Caprimulgiformes
• Apodiformes
• Coliiformes
• Trogoniformes
• Coraciiformes
• Piciformes

Of these, the relationship of the Strigiformes is uncertain^{[citation needed]}, whereas the first three groups almost certainly do not belong here^{[citation needed]}; sandgrouse (Pterocliformes) may not even be higher landbirds^{[citation needed]}. The Cuculiformes, Piciformes, Coraciiformes (including hornbills) and Trogoniformes seem to be very close to the Passeriformes on the other hand (Johansson & Ericson 2003), and one of these almost certainly is - among the living birds - the sister taxon of the Passeriformes.

[edit] See also

• List of birds

[edit] References

• Johansson, Ulf S. & Ericson, Per G. P. (2003): Molecular support for a sister group relationship between Pici and Galbulae (Piciformes sensu Wetmore 1960). J. Avian Biol. 34(2): 185–197. doi:10.1034/j.1600-048X.2003.03103.x PDF fulltext