ZYGODACTYLI. 



289 



environs of that beautiful lake, where there are all 

 soils, all kinds of scenery, and almost all climates in 

 the course of a mile or two] was 



THE GREEN WOODPECKER. 



The woodpeckers are a very curious class of birds, 

 they belong to the class called scansores or climbers, 

 and they are also styled zygodactylic or yoke-footed ; 

 because the toes are yoked two and two, two that turn 

 backwards, and two that turn forwards. The whole 

 of the parrot tribe have feet of this description, only 

 they are adapted for grasping twigs, and the birds 

 make use of their beaks as a third organ of climbing, 

 while the woodpeckers climb upon the stems and 

 larger branches of trees, often supporting themselves 

 with their tails, and using the bill for very different 

 purposes. The cuckoo also has feet of this description ; 

 and so has the three-toed woodpecker, an inhabitant of 

 the forests of Sweden and Norway, and other cold 

 2c 



