ABSTRACT
The distinction between land birds and waterbirds is based on habitat requirements rather than their relationships by evolution. Natural groupings of birds tend to include species that are mostly all either land birds or waterbirds, and therefore the land and water categories have few misfits. Land birds are those that normally live in terrestrial habitats without particular dependence on aquatic or marine habitats. Examples of groups of birds that can be categorized as land birds are hawks, and hawklike birds including vultures and kites, doves, owls, woodpeckers, and songbirds (sometimes called “perching birds” but technically known as passerine birds). The songbirds or passerine birds include many species such as swallows, jays, the mockingbird, thrushes, flycatchers, warblers, and blackbirds. It is convenient to distinguish between passerine and nonpasserine land birds in some comparisons.
