It is thought that the first passerines evolved in the southern continent of Gondwana in the Palaeogene. This might have taken place around the Upper Palaeocene some 60–55 mya. The latest opinion on passerine evolution is that that passerines originated on the Australian landmass ∼47 mya.
The early fossil record is poor because the first Passeriformes were on the small side, and their delicate bones did not preserve well. Two specimens from Queensland, Australia are fossil bone fragments clearly recognizable as passeriform. They are two species of about 10 and 20 cm in overall length. This proves that some 55 mya, barely into the early Eocene, early perching birds were recognizably distinct. It also suggests that the origin of this great order of birds was in the southern continent.
There are three sub-orders: "Acanthisitti", "Tyranni" and "Passeri". There are only two bird species in the sub-order Acanthisitti. They are known as New Zealand wrens. The sub-order Tyranni are also known as the suboscines. Many of these birds are found in tropical areas. The sub-order Passeri has the most bird species. They are also known as the oscines.
Suboscines
Songbirds or oscines
Superb lyrebird
The superb lyrebird ("Menura novaehollandiae") is a pheasant-sized songbird.
It is an Australian endemic species, about 100cm long. It has brown upper body plumage, grayish-brown below, rounded wings and strong legs. It is the longest and third heaviest of all songbirds.
They are capable of mimicking a wide variety of sounds, including other bird's songs and man-made sounds like car alarms and chainsaws.
Lyrebird
A lyrebird is a ground-dwelling Australian bird. There are two species in the genus Menura. The live in forests, especially rainforests, of eastern Australia, and they were introduced to Tasmania in the 19th century. They are found in two National Forest areas of Victoria, New South Wales and southeast Queensland.
They are most notable for their superb ability to mimic natural and artificial sounds from their environment. Since they live on the ground in fairly dense undergrowth, sound is used by the males to attract attention. When a female arrives, the visual display comes into action. It is a typical "female choice" mating system, where males defend a mating territory, and sing and display to get a mate.
The lyrebird's mimicked calls are learned from the local environment, including other birds. It takes young birds about a year to perfect their mimicked repertoire. The female lyrebirds of both species are also mimics, and will sing on occasion but the females do so with less skill than the males. A lyrebird classic is their imitation of human sounds in the forest such as car alarms, camera shutters and forest logging with chain-saws.
The breeding cycle of the lyrebirds is long, and lyrebirds are long-lived birds. They can live up to thirty years. They also start breeding later in life than other passerine birds. Female Superb Lyrebirds start breeding at the age of five or six, and males at the age of six to eight. Males defend territories from other males.These territories may contain the breeding places of up to eight females. In a male's territory, he makes or uses display platforms.
The females each build an untidy nest, usually low to the ground in a moist gully, where each lays a single egg. She is the sole parent who incubates the egg over 50 days until it hatches, and she is also the sole carer of the lyrebird chick.
Albert's lyrebird
The Albert's lyrebird ("Menura alberti") is a pheasant-sized songbird, about 90 cm long, with brown upper body feathers and rich chestnut below. It is very similar with the superb lyrebird in its habits. This bird also mimics other species sounds. It is sometimes called the "Prince Albert Lyrebird" or the "Northern Lyrebird". Named after Queen Victoria's husband, Prince Albert, they are smaller than the Superb Lyrebirds.
Albert's lyrebirds are only found in a small area of rainforest in the Lamington National Park near the border of Queensland and New South Wales. There are about 3,500 birds known to exist. There are reports of the birds in the Blackall Range, but this has not been proved. Known groups of birds live on Tamborine Mountain, Scenic Rim and the Nightcap Range.
They eat small insects which they scratch up from the ground. They are a shy bird which will run or fly away if disturbed. During the breeding season in winter, from May to August, the male bird performs displays of song and dance to attract the females. The songs are copied from other birds and forest sounds. The songs can last up to four hours, with some individual songs lasting up to one hour. During his dance, the male bird raises his tail feathers up and over his body. The feathers form a lyre shape which is why they were given the name "lyrebird".
It is listed as a Vulnerable species because it lives in such a limited area, it can only eat a small range of food from that area, and it is not breeding quickly.
Corvida
The "Corvida" were one of two "parvorders" that were inside the suborder Passeri. The term is now not used in taxonomy because it is paraphyletic.
Passerida
Passerida is one of two "parvorders" in the suborder Passeri.
Piciformes
Piciformes are order of birds contain about 67 living genera with a little over 400 species, of which the Picidae (woodpeckers and relatives) make up about half. Amost all live in woods (arboreal).
In general, the Piciformes are insectivorous, though the barbets and toucans mostly eat fruit and the honeyguides are unique among birds in digesting beeswax (though insects make up most of their diet).
Nearly all Piciformes have parrot-like zygodactyl feet—two toes forward and two back, an arrangement that has obvious advantages for birds that spend much of their time on tree trunks. An exception are a few species of three-toed woodpeckers. The jacamars aside, Piciformes do not have down feathers at any age, only true feathers. They range in size from the rufous piculet at 8 centimetres in length, and weighing 7 grams, to the toco toucan, at 63 centimetres long, and weighing 680 grams. All nest in cavities (holes) and have altricial young, meaning they have to look after their chicks for quite a long time.
Order: PICIFORMES
La Silla Observatory
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Crimean Astrophysical Observatory
The Crimean Astrophysical Observatory (CrAO) is found in Ukraine and is an observatory. It studies the stars and has found a total of 12 minor planets to date:
Freema Agyeman
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Missy Elliott
Melissa Arnette "Missy" Elliott (born July 1, 1971) is a five-time Grammy Award-winning American rapper, singer, songwriter, and record producer. With record sales of over seven million in the United States, she is the only female rapper to have six albums certified platinum by the RIAA, including one double platinum ("Under Construction"). Elliot has released six studio albums. Her seventh album is called Block Party. She has Graves' disease.
Piombino
Piombino is a town and commune in the province of Livorno (Tuscany), Italy, on the border between the Ligurian Sea and the Tyrrhenian Sea, in front of Elba Island and at the northern side of Maremma.