parent_taxon phoenicopteridae
Vertebrates comprise all species of animals within the subphylum ___MASK9___ ( chordates with backbones ). Vertebrates represent the overwhelming majority of the phylum Chordata , with currently about 64 , 000 species described . Vertebrates include the jawless fish and the jawed vertebrates , which include the cartilaginous fish ( sharks and rays ) and the bony fish . A songbird is a ___MASK71___ belonging to the clade ___MASK50___ of the perching birds ( Passeriformes ). Another name that is sometimes seen as a scientific or vernacular name is Oscines , from Latin " oscen ", " a songbird ". This group contains some 4 , 000 species found all over the world , in which the vocal organ typically is developed in such a way as to produce a diverse and elaborate ___MASK71___ song . ___MASK49___ is a group of water bird including the flamingos and their extinct relatives . The superclass ___MASK97___ ( Ancient Greek s tetrapods , " four - footed "), or the tetrapods , comprises the first four - limbed vertebrates and their descendants , including the living and extinct amphibians , birds , mammals , reptiles and some ancient , exclusively aquatic creatures such as the Acanthostega . Tetrapods evolved from the lobe - finned fishes around 390 million years ago in the middle Devonian Period , with modern tetrapod groups having appeared by the late Devonian , 367 . 5 million years ago . The specific aquatic ancestors of the tetrapods , and the process by which land colonization occurred , remain unclear , and are areas of active research and debate among palaeontologists at present . Dinosaurs are a diverse group of animals of the clade Dinosauria that first appeared during the Triassic . Although the exact origin and timing of the evolution of dinosaurs is the subject of active research , the current scientific consensus places their origin between 231 and 243 million years ago . They became the dominant terrestrial vertebrates after the Triassic  Jurassic extinction event 201 million years ago . Their dominance continued through the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods and ended when the Cretaceous  Paleogene extinction event led to the extinction of most ___MASK68___ groups 66 million years ago . In the context of ___MASK67___ society , a family ( from ) is a group of people affiliated either by consanguinity ( by recognized birth ), affinity ( by marriage or any other relationship like siblings families etc ..), or co - residence ( as implied by the etymology of the English word " family ") or some combination of these . Members of the immediate family include spouses , parents , brothers , sisters , sons , and / or daughters . Members of the extended family may include grandparents , aunts , uncles , cousins , nephews , nieces , and / or siblings - in - law . Sometimes these are also considered members of the immediate family , depending on an individual ' s specific relationship with them . The ___MASK20___ or common ___MASK20___ (" ___MASK62___ camelus ") is either one or two species of large flightless birds native to Africa , the only living member ( s ) of the genus " ___MASK62___ ", which is in the ratite family . In 2014 , the Somali ___MASK20___ (" ___MASK62___ molybdophanes ") was recognized as a distinct species . The bee hummingbird , zunzuncito or Helena hummingbird (" ___MASK99___ helenae ") is a species of hummingbird . An endotherm ( from Greek  " endon " " within " and  " therm " " heat ") is an organism that maintains its body at a metabolically favorable temperature , largely by the use of heat set free by its internal bodily functions instead of relying almost purely on ambient heat . Such internally generated heat is mainly an incidental product of the ___MASK60___ ' s routine metabolism , but under conditions of excessive cold or low activity an endotherm might apply special mechanisms adapted specifically to heat production . Examples include special - function muscular exertion such as shivering , and uncoupled oxidative metabolism such as within brown adipose tissue . Only birds and mammals are extant universally endothermic groups of animals . Certain lamnid sharks , tuna and billfishes are also endothermic . The ear is the organ of hearing and , in mammals , balance . In mammals , the ear is usually described as having three parts  the outer ear , middle ear and the inner ear . The outer ear consists of the ___MASK33___ and the ear canal . Since the outer ear is the only visible portion of the ear in most animals , the word " ear " often refers to the external part alone . The middle ear includes the tympanic cavity and the three ossicles . The inner ear sits in the bony labyrinth , and contains structures which are key to several senses : the semicircular canals , which enable balance and eye tracking when moving ; the utricle and saccule , which enable balance when stationary ; and the cochlea , which enables hearing . The ears of vertebrates are placed somewhat symmetrically on either side of the head , an arrangement that aids sound localisation . Hummingbirds are birds from the Americas that constitute the family ___MASK94___ . They are among the smallest of birds , most species measuring . Indeed , the smallest extant ___MASK71___ species is a hummingbird , the 5 - cm bee hummingbird weighing less than a U . S . penny ( 2 . 5 g ). Birds ( Aves ), also known as avian dinosaurs , are a group of endothermic vertebrates , characterised by feathers , toothless beaked jaws , the laying of hard - shelled eggs , a high metabolic rate , a four - chambered heart , and a lightweight but strong skeleton . Birds live worldwide and range in size from the bee hummingbird to the ___MASK20___ . They rank as the class of tetrapods with the most living species , at approximately ten thousand , with more than half of these being passerines , sometimes known as perching birds or , less accurately , as songbirds . Flamingos or flamingoes are a type of wading ___MASK71___ in the family Phoenicopteridae , the only family in the order ___MASK49___ . There are four flamingo species in the Americas and two species in the Old World . Etymology . " Flamingo " comes from Portuguese or Spanish " flamengo ", " flame - colored ", in turn coming from Provençal " flamenc " from " flama " " flame " and Germanic - like suffix "- ing ", with a possible influence of words like " Fleming ". A similar etymology has the Latinate Greek term " Phoenicopterus " ( from " phoinikopteros "), literally " blood red - feathered ".] A passerine is any ___MASK71___ of the order Passeriformes , which includes more than half of all ___MASK71___ species . A notable feature of passerines compared to other orders of Aves is the arrangement of their toes , three pointing forward and one back , which facilitates perching . Sometimes known as perching birds or , less accurately , as songbirds , the passerines form one of the most diverse terrestrial vertebrate orders , with over 5 , 000 identified species . It has roughly twice as many species as the largest of the ___MASK56___ orders , the ___MASK51___ . It contains more than 110 families , the second - most of any order of tetrapods ( after Squamata , the scaled reptiles ). The passerines contain several groups of brood parasites such as the viduas , cuckoo - finches , and the cowbirds . Most passerines are omnivorous , while the shrikes are carnivorous . ___MASK26___ is a wading ___MASK71___ family including flamingos and their close extinct relatives . Flamingos and their relatives are well attested in the fossil record , with the first unequivocal member of the ___MASK26___ , Elornis known from the late Eocene epoch . A considerable number of little - known birds from the Late Cretaceous onwards are sometimes considered to be ___MASK87___ ancestors . These include the genera Torotix , Scaniornis , Gallornis , Agnopterus , Tiliornis , Juncitarsus , and Kashinia ; these show a mix of characters and are fairly plesiomorphic in comparison to modern birds . ( The supposed `` Cretaceous ___MASK87___ '' Parascaniornis is actually a synonym of Baptornis and not a close relative to any living ___MASK71___ . ) An extinct family of peculiar `` swimming flamingos '' , the Palaelodidae , are believed to be related to , or to be the ancestors of , the modern flamingos . This is sometimes rejected , since the fossil Elornis is known to be from some time before any palaelodid flamingos have been recorded .