Near passerine

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Near passerine or higher land-bird assemblage are terms often given to tree-dwelling 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.[1]

Biology

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[citation needed] 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]

Orders

The near passerines traditionally comprise the following orders[citation needed] (with common names of some families in the orders):

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 (including toucans), 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.

See also

References

  1. ↑ defined as birds lacking the ambiens muscle, namely the coraciforms and passerines. The Birds of North and Middle America, Robert Ridgway, Herbert Friedmann, p. 297. http://books.google.com/books?id=tIkaAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA297&dq=anomalogonate&hl=en&ei=Sp1bTrj4FIbagAfAhsCVDA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=2&ved=0CC4Q6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q=anomalogonate&f=false


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