Tityridae facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Tityridae
Chestnut-crowned becard
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Passeriformes
Parvorder:	Tyrannida
Family:	Tityridae Gray, GR, 1840
Genera
See text

Tityridae is a family of interesting birds found in the forests and woodlands of Central and South America. There are about 45 different kinds of birds in this family. Before, scientists thought these birds belonged to other families like Tyrannidae, Pipridae, and Cotingidae.

There isn't one common name that everyone uses for the Tityridae family yet. Some people call them "tityras and allies" or "tityras, mourners and allies." These birds are usually small to medium-sized. The smallest is the buff-throated purpletuft, which is about 9.5 cm (3.7 in) long and weighs 10 g (0.35 oz). The largest is the masked tityra, which can be up to 24 cm (9.4 in) long and weigh 88 g (3.1 oz). Most of them have fairly short tails and large heads.

How Scientists Group Tityridae Birds

Scientists group living things into families based on how closely they are related. The Tityridae family was first named in 1840 by an English zoologist named George Robert Gray.

For a long time, birds in this family were scattered across different groups. For example, the Laniocera genus was in the Tyrannidae family. Birds like Iodopleura, Laniisoma, Tityra, Pachyramphus, and Xenopsaris were in the Cotingidae family. And Schiffornis was in the Pipridae family. Later, some of these, like Tityra, Pachyramphus, and Xenopsaris, were moved to the Tyrannidae family. This was because scientists looked closely at their skulls and their voice boxes, called a syrinx.

The idea of the Tityridae family as its own group was first suggested in 1989. This was based on looking at different parts of their bodies, especially their voice boxes and skeletal features. Since then, many studies using DNA from both mitochondria and the nucleus of cells have confirmed that these birds truly belong together in one family. This DNA research helps scientists understand the family tree of birds.

Types of Tityridae Birds

The Tityridae family currently includes 37 different kinds of birds, divided into 7 main groups called genera. Here are some of them:

Image	Genus	Living Species
	Tityra Vieillot, 1816	Black-crowned tityra (Tityra inquisitor) Black-tailed tityra (Tityra cayana) Masked tityra (Tityra semifasciata)
	Schiffornis Bonaparte, 1854	Varzea schiffornis (Schiffornis major) Brown-winged schiffornis (Schiffornis turdina) Russet-winged schiffornis (Schiffornis stenorhyncha) Foothill schiffornis (Schiffornis aenea) Northern schiffornis (Schiffornis veraepacis) Guianan schiffornis (Schiffornis olivacea) Greenish schiffornis (Schiffornis virescens)
	Laniocera Lesson, 1841	Speckled mourner (Laniocera rufescens) Cinereous mourner (Laniocera hypopyrra)
	Iodopleura Lesson, 1839	White-browed purpletuft (Iodopleura isabellae) Dusky purpletuft (Iodopleura fusca) Buff-throated purpletuft (Iodopleura pipra)
	Laniisoma Swainson, 1832	Brazilian laniisoma (Laniisoma elegans) Andean laniisoma (Laniisoma buckleyi)
	Xenopsaris Ridgway, 1891	White-naped xenopsaris (Xenopsaris albinucha)
	Pachyramphus Gould & G.R. Gray, 1839	Green-backed becard (Pachyramphus viridis) Yellow-cheeked becard (Pachyramphus xanthogenys) Barred becard (Pachyramphus versicolor) Slaty becard (Pachyramphus spodiurus) Cinereous becard (Pachyramphus rufus) Cinnamon becard (Pachyramphus cinnamomeus) Chestnut-crowned becard (Pachyramphus castaneus) White-winged becard (Pachyramphus polychopterus) Black-and-white becard (Pachyramphus albogriseus) Cryptic becard (Pachyramphus salvini) Grey-collared becard (Pachyramphus major) Black-capped becard (Pachyramphus marginatus) Glossy-backed becard (Pachyramphus surinamus) Rose-throated becard (Pachyramphus aglaiae) Jamaican becard (Pachyramphus niger) One-colored becard (Pachyramphus homochrous) Pink-throated becard (Pachyramphus minor) Crested becard (Pachyramphus validus)