210 SCANSORES. CUCULHXE. 



length of tail possessed by nearly all the Cuckoos 

 is given to them as a sort of balance, just as a rope- 

 dancer, with such an instrument in his hands, pre- 

 serves his footing when otherwise he would as- 

 suredly fall. Remote therefore as the Cuckoos un- 

 questionably are from the typical Scansores, we yet 

 find the functions of the tail contributing to that 

 office [i. e. climbing], although in a very different 

 mode to that which it performs among the Wood- 

 peckers, the Parrots, and the Creepers. The 

 structure of the feet, as before observed, is the 

 only circumstance which would lead an ornitholo- 

 gist to place these birds among the Climbers, sup- 

 posing he were entirely unacquainted with their 

 natural history properly so called, or with their 

 close affinity to the more perfect Scansores. The 

 toes, indeed, are placed in pairs ; that is, two di- 

 rected forward, and two apparently backward ; but 

 a closer inspection will shew that the latter are 

 not strictly posterior, and that they differ so 

 very materially from those of the Picidce (the pre- 

 eminently typical Family of the Climbers), as 

 clearly to indicate a different use. The organization 

 of the external posterior toe of all the Wood- 

 peckers, Parrots, and Toucans renders it incapable 

 of being brought forward, even in the slightest 

 degree ; whereas, in the Cuckoos, this toe can be 

 made to form a right angle with that which is 

 next it in front, from which circumstance it has 

 been termed versatile ; this term, however, is not 

 strictly correct, inasmuch as the toe cannot be 

 brought more than half-way forward, although it 

 can be placed entirely backward. . . . The 

 Cuckoos, in fact, are half perching, half climbing 

 birds, not only in their feet, but, as we have seen, 



