SCANSORES. CLIMBERS. 67 



able to form any reasonable idea of the manner in which they 

 ought to be arranged. But this is of little consequence in the 

 present case, as in Britain there are only representatives of two 

 of the groups, the Woodpeckers and the Cuckoos, the former 

 of which, with the Toucans and Barbets, I would consider as 

 forming the order Scansores. 



The order Scansores, or Climbers, as here instituted, is cha- 

 racterized by a large, strong, nearly straight bill, a long or ex- 

 tensile tongue, and narroio zygodactyle feet. Certain other 

 birds also climb much in the same manner, as the Certhiae, 

 Tichodromoe, and Dendrocolaptre, already spoken of, but their 

 feet differ in having only one toe directed backwards ; and as 

 we name Raptores birds which are peculiarly rapacious, al- 

 though species of other groups are equally so, and apply to a 

 certain series the name of Cantatores or Songsters, although 

 birds of other groups sing, so, with equal reason, we may de- 

 signate as Climbers the species of the present group. 



The feet of the Climbers are short and of moderate strength ; 

 their tarsi more or less compressed, anteriorly scutellate, pos- 

 teriorly with two series of scales ; the toes compressed, of 

 moderate size, excepting the first, which is short, and some- 

 times rudimentary or even wanting, the second and third united 

 at the base, the fourth directed backwards, and longer than the 

 second; the claws strong, much arched, high, compressed, later- 

 ally grooved, and very acute. The bill is straight, or slightly 

 curved, usually about the length of the head, sometimes much 

 longer, strong, tapering, and compressed toward the end. The 

 tongue is long, slender, flattened and fringed, or cylindrical, fleshy, 

 with a horny tip, of which the sides are furnished with reversed 

 denticulations, spicula, or bristles. In the latter case, the horns 

 of the hyoid bone being elongated so as to curve over the head, 

 as far as the base of the upper mandible, or even to stretch round 

 the right orbit, the tongue is extensile in a degree corresponding 

 to the space traversed by the tips of these bones, Mdiich can be 

 drawn backwards over the occiput, and again forwards to be- 

 neath the ears. See Plate XV. The oesophagus is rather 

 narrow, and without dilatation ; the proventriculus extremely 

 large, the stomach roundish, its muscular coat moderately thick, 



