Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology and Museum of Comparative Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA.
Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology and Museum of Comparative Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA.
Curr Biol. 2022 Oct 24;32(20):R1149-R1154. doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2022.08.061.
Passeriformes, more commonly known as perching birds or passerines, are the most species-rich group of birds. Totaling nearly 6500 species, approximately two out of every three bird species is a passerine. Passerines are globally distributed and are among the most abundant birds at nearly every terrestrial location on Earth. Owing to their diversity, abundance and cosmopolitan distribution, passerines are among the most familiar of all birds and have figured prominently in both human culture and science. For example, humans have long been captivated by the beautiful songs of many passerines (such as the Common Nightingale (Luscinia megarhynchos) in Europe and the Wood Thrush (Hylocichla mustelina) of North America), and it is common in some cultures - although globally discouraged as ecologically damaging, especially when birds are captured directly from the wild - to keep passerines as pets. Nevertheless, the vocal prowess and frequent ability to thrive in captivity have made passerines important models for lab-based research ranging from neurobiology to genetics. In contrast, the diversity and accessibility of many passerine birds in the wild continue to make them among the best animal models for field-based studies of behavioral ecology, evolution, mating systems, life history, disease resistance, ecological and evolutionary responses to climate change, among many other fields.
雀形目，通常被称为鸣禽或雀形目鸟类，是鸟类中物种最丰富的群体。雀形目鸟类总计有近 6500 种，大约每三种鸟类中就有两种是雀形目鸟类。雀形目鸟类分布广泛，在地球上几乎每一个陆地栖息地都有大量存在。由于其多样性、丰富性和世界性分布，雀形目鸟类是最常见的鸟类之一，在人类文化和科学中都占有重要地位。例如，人类长期以来一直被许多雀形目鸟类（如欧洲的普通夜莺（Luscinia megarhynchos）和北美的画眉（Hylocichla mustelina））的美丽歌声所吸引，在一些文化中——尽管在全球范围内被劝阻，因为这对生态造成破坏，尤其是当鸟类直接从野外捕获时——养雀形目鸟类作为宠物是很常见的。然而，雀形目鸟类的歌唱能力和在圈养环境中经常茁壮成长的能力，使它们成为从神经生物学到遗传学等实验室研究的重要模型。相比之下，许多野生雀形目鸟类的多样性和可接近性使其成为行为生态学、进化、交配系统、生活史、疾病抵抗力、对气候变化的生态和进化反应等领域的野外研究的最佳动物模型之一。
