Avian Diversification

Some of the diversity of bill shapes found in the Tyranni (images from Ridgely and Tudor 1994). Beginning at the species on top and moving clockwise, bill morphology and behavior of these furnariid species are convergent on that of nuthatches, jays, warblers, thrushes, tits and woodpeckers

The pantropical distribution of the Tyranni, and their prevalence throughout the Neotropical landscape make them a particularly well suited taxon to investigate diversification patterns and processes at intercontinental and continental scales. A first step in understanding the evolutionary pressures that have propelled this diversification is to characterize patterns of diversification. To that end, many research labs worked together to build a well-resolved, species-level molecular phylogeny of the Tyranni. This phylogeny provides a conceptual foundation for a taxonomic revision of this suborder as well as supports ongoing analyses of character evolution and biogeography in this amazing group of birds.