348 



SCANSORES. 



We have now described all the members of 

 the Conirostres which can be numbered in the 

 British list, and in entering the next tribe of the 

 great incessorial order, we pass a wide gap, 

 our more northern country possessing in the first 

 no representation of the Musophagidce or Buce- 

 ridcBy while those belonging to the Scansores 

 are few in number, and belong only to scattered 

 genera. The third tribe, the Scansores or 

 Climbers, are characterized by the structure 

 which adopts all their members for climbing or 

 hanging among trees, in some developed to the 

 utmost extent, and enabling the birds to scale the 

 smooth and upright trunks ; in others more adapted 

 to grasping and hanging among the branches ; 

 in all, the structure of the feet is intimately con- 

 nected with this provision, and we find them 

 strongly formed, the tarsus short, and the toes 

 in the greater number placed in a zygodactyle 

 manner, or two turned forward, two standing 

 behind, one of which is frequently versatile. 

 In some genera the bill is so formed, as to take 

 the place of a prehensile organ, and assists in the 

 support. On entering this tribe, we have to pa;?s 

 the remarkable genera of the Toucans, with the 

 numerous and varied forms of the Parrots, but 

 we fortunately possess a few representations of 

 the typical family, the Picid<z, or Woodpeckers, 



