A songbird is a bird belonging to the suborder Passeri of the perching birds (Passeriformes). Another name that is sometimes seen as the scientific or vernacular name is Oscines, from Latin oscen, "songbird". The Passeriformes contains 5,000 or so species found all over the world, in which the vocal organ typically is developed in such a way as to produce a diverse and elaborate bird song.
The Australasian wrens are a family, Maluridae, of small, insectivorous passerine birds endemic to Australia and New Guinea. While commonly known as wrens, they are unrelated to the true wrens. The family comprises 32 species in six genera.
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 eleven species in two genera, Certhia and Salpornis. Their plumage is dull-coloured, and as their name implies, they climb over the surface of trees in search of food.
The Pachycephalidae are a family of bird species that includes the whistlers, shrikethrushes, and three of the pitohuis, and is part of the ancient Australo-Papuan radiation of songbirds. The family includes 64 species that are separated into five genera. Its members range from small to medium in size, and occupy most of Australasia. Australia and New Guinea are the centre of their diversity and, in the case of the whistlers, the South Pacific islands as far as Tonga and Samoa and parts of Asia as far as India. The exact delimitation of boundaries of the family are uncertain, and one species, the golden whistler, has been the subject of intense taxonomic scrutiny in recent years, with multiple subspecies and species-level revisions.
The Pomatostomidae are small to medium-sized birds endemic to Australia-New Guinea. For many years, the Australo-Papuan babblers were classified, rather uncertainly, with the Old World babblers (Timaliidae), on the grounds of similar appearance and habits. More recent research, however, indicates that they are too basal to belong the Passerida – let alone the Sylvioidea where the Old World babblers are placed – and they are now classed as a separate family close to the Orthonychidae (logrunners). Five species in one genus are currently recognised, although the red-breasted subspecies rubeculus of the grey-crowned babbler may prove to be a separate species.
The sittellas are a family, Neosittidae, of small passerine birds found only in Australasia. They resemble nuthatches, but whilst they were considered to be in that family for many years they are now afforded their own family. They do not migrate other than for local movements.
The white-throated treecreeper is an Australian treecreeper found in the forests of eastern Australia. It is unrelated to the northern hemisphere treecreepers. It is a small passerine bird with predominantly brown and white plumage and measuring some 15 cm (6 in) long on average. It is insectivorous, eating mainly ants. Unlike treecreepers of the genus Climacteris, the white-throated treecreeper does not engage in cooperative breeding, and wherever it overlaps with species of that genus, it feeds upon much looser bark besides typically using different trees.
The red-browed pardalote is a small brightly coloured insectivorous passerine, endemic to Australia. A gleaning specialist, they forage primarily in eucalypt trees . The Latin word rubricatus means 'red-ochred' which is descriptive of their orange-red eyebrow. Other common names include red-browed diamondbird, bellbird, cape red-browed, pale red-browed, fawn-eyed, fawn-eyebrowed and pallid or red-lored pardalote.
The brown treecreeper is the largest Australasian treecreeper. The bird, endemic to eastern Australia, has a broad distribution, occupying areas from Cape York, Queensland, throughout New South Wales and Victoria to Port Augusta and the Flinders Ranges, South Australia. Prevalent nowadays between 16˚S and 38˚S, the population has contracted from the edges of its pre-European range, declining in Adelaide and Cape York. Found in a diverse range of habitats varying from coastal forests to mallee shrub-lands, the brown treecreeper often occupies eucalypt-dominated woodland habitats up to 1,000 metres (3,300 ft), avoiding areas with a dense shrubby understorey.
Climacteris is a genus of bird in the family Climacteridae. These birds and the other members of the family, genus Cormobates, are similar to Northern Hemisphere creepers, Certhiidae, in climbing helically up tree trunks looking for insect food. Differences from Cormobates are
The speckled warbler is a species of bird in the family Acanthizidae. It is endemic to eastern Australia. Its natural habitat is temperate forests.
The white-browed treecreeper is the smallest of the Australo-papuan treecreepers and sole family member adapted to arid environments. The species foraging strategy involves climbing the trunks of trees in search of invertebrate prey on and under bark. Although some populations within the species range have declined, the species IUCN conservation status is of Least Concern.
The orange-crowned fairywren is a species of passerine bird in the Australasian wren family, Maluridae. It is monotypic within the genus Clytomyias. It is found on New Guinea in its natural habitat of subtropical or tropical moist montane forests.
The western yellow robin is a species of bird in the Australasian robin family, Petroicidae, native to Australia. Described by John Gould in 1838, the western yellow robin and its Australian relatives are not closely related to either the European or American robins, but they appear to be an early offshoot of the Passerida group of songbirds. Ranging between 13.5 and 15.5 cm long, it has grey upperparts, and a grey breast and head, broken by whitish streaks near the bill and below the eye, with a conspicuous yellow belly. The sexes are similar in appearance. Two subspecies are recognized: subspecies griseogularis, which has a yellow rump, and subspecies rosinae with an olive-green rump.
The emperor fairywren is a species of bird in the Australasian wren family, Maluridae. It is found in New Guinea in its natural habitat of subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests. It is the largest species of fairywren. It is highly sexually dimorphic. Males have a blue and black plumage, with the females having blue and black plumage only on their heads, with the rest of the body being coloured a rusty brown and having a black tail tipped with white. There are 3 recognized subspecies of the emperor fairywren, one from north and northwestern New Guinea, one from Biak Island, and one from south New Guinea and the Aru Islands.
The jacky winter is a small grey-brown robin found commonly throughout Australia and also in Papua New Guinea. The jacky winter acquired its name due to rapid and strong vocalisations, which sound like jacky-jacky winter-winter. Their call is also often referred to as sounding like peter-peter-peter. Its habitats include open woodlands and farmlands.
The rockwarbler, is a bird in the family Acanthizidae. It is the only bird species endemic to the state of New South Wales in Australia.
The emu-wrens (Stipiturus) are a genus of passerine birds in the Australasian wren family, Maluridae. They are found only in Australia, where they inhabit scrub, heathland and grassland. They are small birds, 12–19 cm long with the tail accounting for over half of their length. The tail has only six feathers which are loose and coarse in structure, rather like the feathers of the emu. Three species are recognised, of which the mallee emu-wren is endangered.
The Pacific robin, is a red-breasted Australasian robin in the passerine bird genus Petroica found in Melanesia and Polynesia. It is similar in plumage to the scarlet robin of Australia, and until recently the two were considered conspecific until split in 1999 by Schodde and Mason. Thirteen subspecies of Pacific robin are currently recognised, and these subspecies display considerable variation in plumage, foraging preferences, and habitat. The Norfolk robin was previously considered a subspecies of the Pacific robin, but is now considered a distinct species.
Oreoicidae is a newly recognized family of small insectivorous songbirds from New Guinea and Australia, commonly known as the Australo-Papuan bellbirds. The family contains three genera, each containing a single species: Aleadryas, which contains the rufous-naped bellbird; Ornorectes, which contains the piping bellbird; and Oreoica, which contains the crested bellbird.
