Any bird of the order Passeriformes that includes more than half of all bird species. Also known as perching birds, passerines generally have an anisodactyl arrangement of their toes (3 pointing forward and 1 back), which facilitates perching. There are more than 140 families and some 6,500 identified species, making the passerines the most numerous of the bird species.
Passerines are divided into 3 suborders: New Zealand wrens; diverse birds found only in North and South America; and songbirds.
