ORDER III. 



The birds of this order differ from those of any group 

 hitherto described, excepting the Owls, in having the 

 outer toe directed backwards, as well as the first. Feet 

 of this kind have usually been considered as scansorial, 

 because those of the Woodpeckers, eminently climbing 

 birds, have the toes similarly arranged ; but the species 

 of this order are incapable of ascending a perpendicular 

 body in the manner of those birds, and the mere circum- 

 stance of the reversion of the fourth toe is not at all indi- 

 cative of such a habit. It is composed of several of the 

 genera which, having zygodactylous and small feet, have 

 usually been arranged by authors with the true Scansores, 

 or Woodpeckers, namely, Bucco, Crotophaga, Cuculus, 

 and perhaps others, with their numerous subdivisions. 

 These birds not having been sufficiently studied by me, 

 I am unable to characterize them in an adequate man- 

 ner. They are all insectivorous, reside in woods and 

 thickets, among the branches and foliage of which they 

 search for food, have a rapid gliding, buoyant flight, are 

 incapable of walking efficiently on the ground, and are 

 destitute of song. The mouth is wide, the oesophagus nar- 

 row and nearly uniform, the stomach thin or moderately 

 muscular, the intestine of moderate length. Such of them 

 as are not permanently resident in warm climates, migrate 

 into them in autumn, the nature of their food preventing 

 their residence during winter in cold countries. In Bri- 

 tain there are representatives of only one family. 





