A passerine is any bird of the order Passeriformes which includes more than half of all bird species. Sometimes known as perching birds, passerines generally have an anisodactyl arrangement of their toes, which facilitates perching.
The buntings are a group of Old World passerine birds forming the genus Emberiza, the only genus in the family Emberizidae. The family contains 45 species. They are seed-eating birds with stubby, conical bills.
The nuthatches constitute a genus, Sitta, of small passerine birds belonging to the family Sittidae. Characterised by large heads, short tails, and powerful bills and feet, nuthatches advertise their territory using loud, simple songs. Most species exhibit grey or bluish upperparts and a black eye stripe.
The wallcreeper is a small passerine bird found throughout the high mountains of the Palearctic from southern Europe to central China. It is the only extant member of both the genus Tichodroma and the family Tichodromidae.
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 Indian spotted creeper is a small passerine bird, which is a member of the subfamily Salpornithinae which is placed along with the treecreepers in the family Certhiidae. This small bird has a marbled black and white plumage that makes it difficult to spot as it forages on the trunks of dark, deeply fissured trees where it picks out insect prey using its curved bill. It is found in patchily distributed localities mainly in the dry scrub and open deciduous forests of northern and central peninsular India. It does not migrate. Their inclusion along with the treecreepers is not certain and some studies find them more closely related to the nuthatches while others suggest a close relation to the wallcreeper. They lack the stiff tail feathers of treecreepers and do not use their tail for supporting them while creeping vertically along tree trunks.
The beautiful nuthatch is a bird species in the family Sittidae, collectively known as nuthatches. It is a large nuthatch, measuring 16.5 cm (6.5 in) in length, that is not sexually dimorphic. Its coloration and markings are dramatic, the upper parts being black and azure, streaked with white and pale blue on the head and lined with the same colors on the wing feathers. The underparts are orange, and the eyebrow and throat are ochre. An irregular, dark eyestripe highlights its eye. S. formosa's ecology is not fully described, but it is known to feed on small insects and larvae found on the trunks and epiphyte-covered branches of trees in its range. Reproduction takes place from April to May; the nest is placed in the hole of an oak, rhododendron, or other large tree. The nest is made of plant material and fur in which the bird typically lays four to six eggs.
The Casuarinaceae are a family of dicotyledonous flowering plants placed in the order Fagales, consisting of four genera and 91 species of trees and shrubs native to eastern Africa, Australia, Southeast Asia, Malesia, Papuasia, and the Pacific Islands. At one time, all species were placed in the genus Casuarina. Lawrence Alexander Sidney Johnson separated out many of those species and renamed them into the new genera of Gymnostoma in 1980 and 1982, Allocasuarina in 1982, and Ceuthostoma in 1988, with some additional formal descriptions of new species in each other genus. At the time, it was somewhat controversial. The monophyly of these genera was later supported in a 2003 phylogenetic study of the family. In the Wettstein system, this family was the only one placed in the order Verticillatae. Likewise, in the Engler, Cronquist, and Kubitzki systems, the Casuarinaceae were the only family placed in the order Casuarinales.
Salpornis is a genus of bird which is usually included in the family Certhiidae. The genus has in the past been included with the nuthatches in the family Sittidae or placed in a family of its own, the Salpornithidae. Molecular phylogenetic analyses show them to be definitely within the Certhioidea but still leaves some uncertainty about their placement in relation to the genera Sitta, Tichodroma and Certhia. While they appear similar to the treecreepers (Certhia), they do not use their tails to support them while climbing and some molecular evidence shows them to be closer to the nuthatches (Sitta) while another study suggests a closer relation to the wallcreeper Tichodroma muraria. The generic name is derived from the Greek salpinktes for wren and ornis for bird.
Krüper's nuthatch is a species of bird in the family Sittidae. It is a small to medium-sized nuthatch, measuring 12.5 centimetres (4.9 in) in length. The upperparts are blue-gray, with the front half of the crown black in adults of both sexes, but with a less marked in the female rear. The species has a black or gray eyestripe and a prominent white supercilium. The underparts are blue-gray in males and buff-gray in females, with a large, crescent-shaped rufous pectoral patch. The Krüper's nuthatch feeds on insects in the summer and seeds, especially pines, in the fall and winter. Breeding takes place between March and May, and the nest is usually placed in a tree hole. The clutch consists of five to seven eggs, incubated by the female and fed by the male. Both parents take part in feeding the young.
Passerida is, under the Sibley-Ahlquist taxonomy, one of two parvorders contained within the suborder Passeri. While more recent research suggests that its sister parvorder, Corvida, is not a monophyletic grouping, the Passerida as a distinct clade are widely accepted.
The white-headed starling, also known as the Andaman white-headed starling, is a species of starling in the family Sturnidae. It is found in wooded habitats of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
The chestnut-cheeked starling is a species of starling in the family Sturnidae. It breeds in Japan and the Russian islands of Sakhalin and Kuriles; it winters in Taiwan, the Philippines and northern Borneo.
The Daurian starling, or purple-backed starling, is a species of bird in the starling family found in the eastern Palearctic from eastern Mongolia and southeastern Russia to North Korea and central China.
The blue nuthatch is a bird species in the nuthatch family Sittidae. It is a medium-sized nuthatch, measuring 13.5 cm (5.3 in) in length. The species, which shows slight sexual dimorphism, has dramatic coloration unlike any other member of its genus. Its head is black or blackish-blue dark blue upperparts close to purple with azure feathers. The wings are edged with black. The throat and chest are white or a washed buff color, contrasting with the upperparts and the belly of a very dark blue; the covert feathers are generally clear, blue-gray or purplish.
The chestnut-vented nuthatch is a species of bird in the nuthatch family Sittidae. It is a medium-sized nuthatch, measuring 12.5–14 cm (4.9–5.5 in) in length. The upperparts are a solid gray blue, with a markedly black loral stripe. The underparts are uniform gray to buff from the throat to belly, with brick red on the flanks. The undertail is white with a rufous border. The chestnut-vented nuthatch utters different kinds of calls, which can sometimes sound like a troglodyte alarm, and its song is a monotonous, stereotypical crackle, typically chichichichi. Its ecology is poorly known, but it probably feeds on small arthropods and seeds, and the breeding season begins between March and May. The nest is typically located in a hole in the trunk of a tree, and the clutch has two to five eggs.
The pale-headed woodpecker is a species of bird in the family Picidae. It is found in Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, India, Laos, Myanmar, Nepal, Thailand, and Vietnam. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry forests and subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests. It is a bamboo specialist, and a montane bird.
Lindenbergia is a genus of herbaceous plants in the order Lamiales and in the broomrape family Orobanchaceae. It is one of the few genera of the family which are not parasitic. It contains about 15 species found from northeast Africa across Asia to the Philippines, and is most abundant in India.
Przevalski's nuthatch, originally given the nomen nudumSitta eckloni, is a bird species in the family Sittidae, collectively known as nuthatches. Long regarded as a subspecies of the white-cheeked nuthatch, it nevertheless differs significantly in morphology and vocalizations. Both S. przewalskii and S. leucopsis have been regarded as closely related to the North American white-breasted nuthatch. It is a medium-sized nuthatch, measuring about 13 cm (5 in) in length. Its upper body is a dark gray-blue or slate color, becoming dark blue-black at the crown. The cheeks and throat are a white buff-orange, turning to a rich cinnamon on the underparts that intensifies in color on the sides of the breast. Vocalizations consist of alternating series of ascending whistles and short notes.
Muscicapida is a clade of birds in the order Passeriformes. Oliveros, C.H. et al. (2019) suggested a gondwanan migration of this lineage from Australia to Eurasia.
