Editing Parrotbill (section)

==Taxonomy==
Since 1990 (Sibley & Ahlquist 1990),<ref>Ricklefs, Robert E. "Small clades at the periphery of passerine morphological space." The American Naturalist 165.6 (2005): 651–659.</ref> molecular data has been added to aid the efforts of discovering the parrotbills' true relationships. As ''Paradoxornis'' species are generally elusive and in many cases little-known birds, usually specimens of the bearded reedling which are far more easy to procure were used for the analyses. Often, the entire group was entirely left out of analyses, being small and seemingly insignificant in the large pattern of [[bird evolution]] (e.g. Barker ''et al.'' 2002, 2004). The bearded reedling tended to appear close to [[lark]]s in [[phylogenies]] based on e.g. [[DNA-DNA hybridization]] (Sibley & Ahlquist 1990), or on [[mtDNA]] [[cytochrome b|cytochrome ''b'']] and [[nDNA]] ''[[c-myc]]'' [[exon]] 3, [[RAG-1]] and [[myoglobin]] [[intron]] 2 sequence data (Ericson & Johansson 2003). Placement in a [[Taxonomic rank|superfamily]] [[Sylvioidea]] which contained birds such as Sylviidae, Timaliidae and long-tailed tits – but not Paridae – was confirmed.

Cibois (2003a) analyzed mtDNA cytochrome ''b'' and [[12S rRNA|12S]]/[[MT-RNR2|16S rRNA]] sequences of some Sylvioidea, among them several species of ''Paradoxornis'' but not the bearded reedling. These formed a robust [[clade]] closer to the ''[[Sylvia (bird)|Sylvia]]'' typical warblers and some presumed "Old World babblers" such as ''[[Chrysomma sinense]]'' than to other birds. The puzzle was finally resolved by Alström ''et al.'' (2006), who studied mtDNA cytochrome ''b'' and nDNA myoglobin intron 2 sequences of a wider range of Sylvioidea: The bearded reedling was not a parrotbill at all, but forms a distinct lineage on its own, the relationships of which are not entirely resolved at present. The parrotbills' presence in the clade containing ''Sylvia'', on the other hand, necessitates that the Paradoxornithidae are placed in [[junior synonym|synonymy]] of the Sylviidae. Cibois (2003b) even suggested that these themselves were to be merged with the remaining Timaliidae and the latter name to be adopted. This has hitherto not been followed and researchers remain equivocal as many [[taxa]] in Sylviidae and Timaliidae remain to be tested for their relationships. In any case, it is most likely that the typical warbler-parrotbill group is [[monophyletic]] and therefore agrees with the modern requirements for a [[taxon]]. Hence, whether to keep or to synonymize it is entirely a matter of philosophy, as the scientific facts would agree with either approach.

The interesting conclusion from an [[evolution]]ary point of view is that the morphologically both internally homogenous and compared to each other highly dissimilar typical warblers and parrotbills form the two extremes in the [[divergent evolution]] of the Sylviidae. This is underscored by looking at the closest living relatives of the parrotbills in the rearranged Sylviidae: The genus ''[[Chrysomma]]'' are non-specialized species altogether intermediate in habitus, habitat and habits between the typical warblers and the parrotbills. Presumably, the ancestral sylviids looked much like these birds. How dramatic the evolutionary changes wrought upon the parrotbills in their adaptation to feeding on grass [[caryopses]] and similar seeds were can be seen by comparing them with the typical [[fulvetta]]s, which were formerly considered Timaliidae and united with the [[alcippe (bird)|alcippe]]s (Pasquet 2006). These look somewhat like drab [[fairy-wren]]s and have none of the parrotbills' adaptations to food and habitat. Yet it appears that the typical fulvettas' and parrotbills' common ancestor evolved into at least two parrotbill lineages independently (Cibois 2003a) & (Yeung et al. 2006). Only the [[wrentit]], the only [[Americas|American]] sylviid, resembles the parrotbills much in habitus, though not in color pattern, and of course, as an [[insectivore]], neither in bill shape.

The phylogenetic relationships between the Paradoxornithidae and other families was determined in a [[molecular phylogenetic]] study by Tianlong Cai and collaborators that was published in 2019. It is shown in the cladogram below:.<ref name=cai>{{Cite journal | last1=Cai | first1=T. | last2=Cibois | first2=A. | last3=Alström | first3=P. | last4=Moyle | first4=R.G. | last5=Kennedy | first5=J.D. | last6=Shao | first6=S. | last7=Zhang | first7=R. | last8=Irestedt | first8=M. | last9=Ericson | first9=P.G.P. | last10=Gelang | first10=M. | last11=Qu | first11=Y. | last12=Lei | first12=F. | last13=Fjeldså | first13=J. | date=2019 | title=Near-complete phylogeny and taxonomic revision of the world's babblers (Aves: Passeriformes) | journal=Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution | volume=130 | pages=346–356 | doi=10.1016/j.ympev.2018.10.010 | pmid=30321696 | doi-access=free }}</ref><ref name=ioc>{{cite web | editor1-last=Gill | editor1-first=Frank | editor1-link=Frank Gill (ornithologist) | editor2-last=Donsker | editor2-first=David | editor3-last=Rasmussen | editor3-first=Pamela | editor3-link=Pamela Rasmussen | date=January 2024 | title=Sylviid babblers, parrotbills, white-eyes | work=IOC World Bird List Version 14.1 | url=https://www.worldbirdnames.org/bow/sylvias/ | publisher=International Ornithologists' Union | access-date=4 January 2024 | archive-date=28 April 2014 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140428201717/https://www.worldbirdnames.org/bow/sylvias/ | url-status=live }}</ref>
{{clade| style=font-size:90%;line-height:90%
|1={{clade
   |1=[[Pycnonotidae]] – bulbuls (167 species)
   |2={{clade
      |1={{clade
         |1=[[Sylviidae]] – sylviid babblers (32 species)
         |2='''Paradoxornithidae''' – parrotbills and myzornis (38 species)
         }}
      |2={{clade
         |1=[[Zosteropidae]] – white-eyes (152 species)
         |2={{clade
            |1=[[Timaliidae]] – tree babblers (58 species)
            |2={{clade
               |1=[[Pellorneidae]] – ground babblers (68 species)
               |2={{clade
                  |1=[[Alcippeidae]] – Alcippe fulvettas (10 species)
                  |2=[[Leiothrichidae]] – laughingthrushes and allies (133 species)
                  }}
               }}
            }}
         }}
      }}
   }}
}}

The cladogram below shows the relationships between the genera in the family Paradoxornithidae. It is based on the results of the [[molecular phylogenetic]] study by Tianlong Cai and collaborators and the generic divisions adopted by [[Frank Gill (ornithologist)|Frank Gill]], [[Pamela Rasmussen]] and David Donsker in the list of birds maintained on behalf of the [[International Ornithological Committee]].<ref name=cai/><ref name=ioc/>
{{clade|style=font-size:90%;line-height:90%
|label1='''Paradoxornithidae'''
|1={{clade
   |1=''[[Myzornis]]'' – fire-tailed myzornis
   |2={{clade
      |1=''[[Moupinia]]'' – rufous-tailed babbler
      |2={{clade
         |1=''[[Lioparus]]'' – golden-breasted fulvetta
         |2={{clade
            |1={{clade
               |1=''[[Chrysomma]]'' – babblers (2 species)
               |2={{clade
                  |1=''[[Rhopophilus]]'' – babblers (2 species)
                  |2=''[[Fulvetta]]'' – fulvettas (8 species)
                  }}
               }}
            |2={{clade
               |1={{clade
                  |1=''[[Chamaea]]'' – wrentit
                  |2=''[[Paradoxornis]]'' – parrotbills (10 species)
                  }}
               |2=''[[Suthora]]'' – parrotbills (12 species)
                  }}
               }}
            }}
         }}
      }}
}}