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Phylogenetic relationships among the Tyrannides were assessed using over 4000 base pairs of nuclear recombination activating 1 (RAG‐1) and 2 (RAG‐2) DNA sequence data from about 93% of all described genera, which represents the most complete assessment of relationships for this diverse New World radiation to date. With this sampling we propose a significantly expanded interpretation of higher‐level relationships within the group. The Tyrannides are shown to be comprised of six major lineages, all of which represent traditional family‐level taxa (sensuFitzpatrick, 2004a and Snow, 2004a,b; del Hoyo et al., 2004): (i) manakins (Pipridae); (ii) cotingas (Cotingidae); (iii) the sharpbill (Oxyruncus) + onychorhynchine flycatchers (Onychorhynchini); (iv) tityrines (Tityridae); (v) rhynchocycline flycatchers (Rhynchocyclidae); and (vi) the tyrant flycatchers (Tyrannidae). In addition, the RAG data recovered isolated …