620 MANUAL OF ZOOLOGY. 



The most important families of the Scansores are the Cuckoos 

 (Cuculidce), the Woodpeckers and Wry-necks (Picida), the Par- 

 rots (Psittaridce\ the Toucans (Rhampttastida), the Trogons 

 ( Trogonidce), the Barbets {Buaonida), and the Plantain-eaters 

 (MusophagidcB). 



The Cuculidcz, or Cuckoos, are chiefly remarkable for the 

 extraordinary fact that many of them, instead of nidificating 

 and incubating for themselves, lay their eggs in the nests of 

 other birds. The only bird not belonging to this family which 

 has the same " parasitic " habit, is the Cow-bunting (Molothrus 

 pecoris} of the United States. As a rule, only one egg is de- 

 posited in each nest, and the young Cuckoo which is hatched 

 from it, is brought up by the foster-parent, generally at the 

 expense of the legitimate offspring. The large Channel-bill 

 (Scythrops Novce-Hollandice] is said to possess the same curious 

 habit, but many species of this group build nests for themselves 

 in the ordinary manner. Beside the typical Cuckoos (Cuculus) 

 this group contains the American Cuckoos (Coccygus), the Anis 

 (Crotophaga\ the Honey-guides (Indicator], and other less im- 

 portant forms. 



The second family of the Scansores is that of the Picidce, and 

 comprises the Woodpeckers and Wry-necks. These birds feed 

 chiefly upon insects, and the tongue is very extensible, barbed 

 at the point, and covered with a viscid secretion, so as to enable 

 them to catch their prey by suddenly darting it out. The bill 

 is strong and wedge-shaped, and the claws crooked. The tail- 

 feathers terminate in points, and are unusually hard and stiff, 

 assisting the bird in running up the trunks of trees. The Wood- 

 peckers are widely distributed throughout both hemispheres, 

 and the Wry-necks ( Yunx) are European. 



The next family is that of the Parrots (Psitfatidtz), the largest 

 group of the Scansores, comprising several hundred species. 

 The bill in the Parrots is large and strong, and the upper man- 

 dible is considerably longer than the lower, and is hooked at 

 its extremity (fig. 343). The bill is used as a kind of third foot 

 in climbing, thus allowing the feet to be used in prehension. 

 At the base of the upper mandible is a " cere," in which the 

 nostrils are pierced. The tongue is soft and fleshy. The feet 

 are especially adapted for climbing, some, however, of the. Par- 

 rots moving about actively on the ground. The colours of the 

 plumage are generally extremely bright and gaudy ; and they 

 live for the most part upon fruits. The Psittacida are distri- 

 buted throughout the tropics, and in the southern hemisphere 

 as far south as the 52d parallel. They are monogamous, and 



