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ORDER VI. 

 ZYGODACTYLES. 



YOKE-TOED. 



THE foreign, especially the tropical, birds of this order are 

 exceedingly numerous, and comprise the most curious and 

 showy of the feathered tribes the toucans, the parrots, the 

 parroquets, the maccaws, and many others, which swarm in 

 the forests, and hang on the trees like gorgeous flowers in 

 colour. The British ones are but few the wood-peckers, 

 the wryneck, and the cuckoo : the last has a peculiarity in 

 the structure of its feet, as well as in its mode of life. Three 

 species of wood-peckers are resident in Britain, and some 

 others come occasionally as stragglers. There is but one 

 British wryneck and one cuckoo, which are both regular 

 summer visitants, but not equally distributed over the 

 country. The wood-peckers are, the green, the greater spotted, 

 and the lesser spotted. 



THE GREEN WOOD-PECKER (PlCUS Viridis). 



The lowest figure on the plate opposite, which is one-sixth 

 of the lineal dimensions, will give an idea of the form and 

 colours of the bird, and also of its attitude when in a state of 

 repose. It will be seen that the upper tail-coverts are very 

 thick, and that the tail feathers are pointed at the ends; 

 they are also very firm and stiff both in the shafts and the 



