Sylvioidea
Encyclopedia
Sylvioidea is a superfamily
of passerine
birds. It is one of at least three major clade
s within the Passerida
along with the Muscicapoidea and Passeroidea. It contains about 1300 species including the Old World warbler
s, Old World babbler
s, swallow
s, lark
s, bulbul
s and perhaps the tits. Members of the superfamily are found worldwide but fewer species are present in the Americas.
s, wren
s and allies but do support the addition of the larks.
Some of the families within the Sylvioidea have been greatly redefined. In particular, the Old World warbler family Sylviidae and Old World babbler family Timaliidae were used as wastebin taxa and included many species which have turned out not to be closely related. Several new families have been created and some species have been moved from one family to another.
It is not yet certain if the three families above belong in the Sylvioidea and they are sometimes treated as a separate superfamily, Paroidea.
The following groups form a single babbler radiation and it is not yet certain how many separate families should be recognized. Gelang et al. proposed a division into two families, Sylviidae and Timaliidae, with Timaliidae being divided into four subfamilies. The list of the International Ornithological Congress
provisionally recognizes five families.
Superfamily
The term superfamily is used to describe several different concepts in different scientific fields:* Superfamily and Superfamily : a level of biological classification; redirects to Taxonomic rank...
of passerine
Passerine
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: with over 5,000 identified species, it has roughly...
birds. It is one of at least three major clade
Clade
A clade is a group consisting of a species and all its descendants. In the terms of biological systematics, a clade is a single "branch" on the "tree of life". The idea that such a "natural group" of organisms should be grouped together and given a taxonomic name is central to biological...
s within the Passerida
Passerida
Passerida is under the Sibley-Ahlquist taxonomy, one of two "parvorders" contained within the suborder Passeri...
along with the Muscicapoidea and Passeroidea. It contains about 1300 species including the Old World warbler
Old World warbler
The "Old World Warblers" is the name used to describe a large group of birds formerly grouped together in the bird family Sylviidae. The family held over 400 species in over 70 genera, and were the source of much taxonomic confusion. Two families were split out initially, the cisticolas into...
s, Old World babbler
Old World babbler
The Old World babblers or timaliids are a large family of mostly Old World passerine birds. They are rather diverse in size and coloration, but are characterised by soft fluffy plumage. These are birds of tropical areas, with the greatest variety in Southeast Asia and the Indian Subcontinent...
s, swallow
Swallow
The swallows and martins are a group of passerine birds in the family Hirundinidae which are characterised by their adaptation to aerial feeding...
s, lark
Lark
Larks are passerine birds of the family Alaudidae. All species occur in the Old World, and in northern and eastern Australia; only one, the Shore Lark, has spread to North America, where it is called the Horned Lark...
s, bulbul
Bulbul
Bulbuls are a family, Pycnonotidae, of medium-sized passerine songbirds. Many forest species are known as greenbuls. The family is distributed across most of Africa and into the Middle East, tropical Asia to Indonesia, and north as far as Japan. A few insular species occur on the tropical islands...
s and perhaps the tits. Members of the superfamily are found worldwide but fewer species are present in the Americas.
Systematics
The superfamily Sylvioidea was first proposed in 1990 in the Sibley-Ahlquist taxonomy of birds. More recent studies have failed to support the inclusion of some families such as the treecreeperTreecreeper
The treecreepers are a family, Certhiidae, of small passerine birds, widespread in wooded regions of the Northern Hemisphere and sub-Saharan Africa. The family contains ten species in two genera, Certhia and Salpornis...
s, wren
Wren
The wrens are passerine birds in the mainly New World family Troglodytidae. There are approximately 80 species of true wrens in approximately 20 genera....
s and allies but do support the addition of the larks.
Some of the families within the Sylvioidea have been greatly redefined. In particular, the Old World warbler family Sylviidae and Old World babbler family Timaliidae were used as wastebin taxa and included many species which have turned out not to be closely related. Several new families have been created and some species have been moved from one family to another.
List of families
- StenostiridaeStenostiridaeStenostiridae, or the Fairy Flycatchers, is a family of small passerine birds proposed as a result of recent discoveries in molecular systematics . They are commonly referred to as stenostirid warblers....
: fairy flycatchers - Paridae: tits and chickadees
- Remizidae: penduline tits
It is not yet certain if the three families above belong in the Sylvioidea and they are sometimes treated as a separate superfamily, Paroidea.
- Panuridae: the Bearded Reedling; formerly classed as a parrotbillParrotbillThe parrotbills are a group of peculiar birds native to East and Southeast Asia, though feral populations are known from elsewhere. They are generally small, long-tailed birds which inhabit reedbeds and similar habitat. They feed mainly on seeds, e.g. of grasses, to which their bill, as the name...
but seems to be closest to the larks. - Nicatoridae: nicators; have been classed as bulbuls in the past but appear to have no close relatives.
- Alaudidae: larkLarkLarks are passerine birds of the family Alaudidae. All species occur in the Old World, and in northern and eastern Australia; only one, the Shore Lark, has spread to North America, where it is called the Horned Lark...
s - Pycnonotidae: bulbuls
- Hirundinidae: swallows and martins
- Pnoepygidae: pygmy wren-babblers; apparently unrelated to other babblers.
- MacrosphenidaeMacrosphenidaeThe African warblers are a newly erected family, Macrosphenidae, of songbirds. Most of the species were formerly placed in the Old World warbler family Sylviidae, although one species, the Rockrunner, was placed in the babbler family Timaliidae...
: African warblers such as longbillLongbillLongbill can refer to:*One of two species of longbill in the bird family Melanocharitidae*One of six species of longbill, African "warblers" in the genera Macrosphenus and Amaurocichla*The longbill spearfish, a species of marlin...
s and crombecCrombecSylvietta, the crombecs, is a genus of African warblers. Formerly placed in the massively paraphyletic Sylviidae, it is now considered to belong to a newly-recognized family found only in Africa, Macrosphenidae.It contains the following species:...
s; a recently proposed family whose composition is still uncertain. - CettiidaeCettiidaeCettiidae is a newly validated family of small insectivorous songbirds , formerly placed in the Old World warbler "wastebin" assemblage. It contains the typical bush-warblers and their relatives. As common name, cettiid warblers is usually used.Its members occur mainly in Asia and Africa, ranging...
: bush-warblers - Aegithalidae: long-tailed tits
- PhylloscopidaePhylloscopidaePhylloscopidae is a newly described family of small insectivorous birds formerly placed in the Old World warbler family. Its members occur in Eurasia, ranging into Wallacea and Africa...
: leaf-warblers: - AcrocephalidaeAcrocephalidaeAcrocephalidae is a family of oscine passerine birds, in the superfamily Sylvioidea....
: reed warblersAcrocephalusThe Acrocephalus warblers are small, insectivorous passerine birds belonging to the genus Acrocephalus. Formerly in the paraphyletic Old World warbler assemblage, they are now separated as the namesake of the marsh- and tree-warbler family Acrocephalidae...
and allies - MegaluridaeMegaluridaeLocustellidae is a newly recognized family of small insectivorous songbirds , formerly placed in the Old World warbler "wastebin" family. It contains the grass-warblers, grassbirds, and the Bradypterus "bush-warblers". These birds occur mainly in Eurasia, Africa, and the Australian region...
(or Locustellidae): grassbirds and allies - Donacobiidae: the Black-capped DonacobiusBlack-capped DonacobiusThe Black-capped Donacobius is a conspicuous, vocal South American bird. It is found in tropical swamps and wetlands in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, and Venezuela; also Panama of Central America.-Taxonomy:The Black-capped...
; previously classed as a wren but probably closest to the Megaluridae or Bernieridae. - Bernieridae: Malagasy warblerMalagasy warblerThe Malagasy warblers are a newly validated clade of songbirds. They were formally named Bernieridae in 2010. The family consists of ten species of small forest birds and is endemic to Madagascar....
s; a new family formally named in 2010. - CisticolidaeCisticolidaeThe Cisticolidae family of small passerine birds is a group of about 110 warblers found mainly in warmer southern regions of the Old World. They are often included within the Old World warbler family Sylviidae....
: cisticolaCisticolaCisticolas are a genus of very small insectivorous birds formerly classified in the Old World warbler family Sylviidae, but now usually considered to be in the separate family Cisticolidae, along with other southern warbler genera. They are believed to be quite closely related to the swallows and...
s and allies
The following groups form a single babbler radiation and it is not yet certain how many separate families should be recognized. Gelang et al. proposed a division into two families, Sylviidae and Timaliidae, with Timaliidae being divided into four subfamilies. The list of the International Ornithological Congress
International Ornithological Congress
The International Ornithological Congress series forms the oldest and largest international series of meetings of ornithologists. It is organised by the International Ornithological Committee, a group of about 200 ornithologists...
provisionally recognizes five families.
- Timaliidae: tree babblers
- Pellorneidae: ground babblers
- Leiothrichidae: laughingthrushLaughingthrushThe Laughingthrushes are the genus Garrulax of the large Old World babbler family of passerine birds. They occur in tropical Asia, with the greatest number of species occurring in the Himalaya and southern China....
es and allies - SylviidaeSylviidaeSylviidae is a family of passerine birds that was part of an assemblage known as the Old World warblers. The family was formerly a wastebin taxon with over 400 species of bird in over 70 genera. The family was poorly defined with many characteristics shared with other families...
: SylviaTypical warblerThe typical warblers are small birds belonging to the genus Sylvia in the "Old World warbler" family Sylviidae. There are 28 species currently included in the genus, including five species formerly treated in the genus Parisoma, a treatment which left Sylvia paraphyletic...
warblers and allies - Zosteropidae: white-eyeWhite-eyeWhite-eye can refer to:*White-eye , a large family of birds.*White-eye , a species of fish.*White-eye mutation, a mutation in Drosophila melanogaster linked to the X chromosome, found by reciprocal cross breeding experiments in 1906.*A lioness member of the Marsh Pride of lions that have featured...
s and allies