CLASSIFICATION OF BIRDS. 17 



the chrysalis, or the eggs. These are possessed of 

 extraordinary agility in hopping about from twig to 

 twig in search of food. Some birds of the order 

 Incessores live on seeds and nuts ; such are furnished 

 with a strong short beak, quite thick at the base ; 

 the two mandibles sometimes working together like a 

 pair of scissors. To this class belong the Finches, 

 Sparrows, Crossbills, with many more. 



The third division, Scansores, or Zygodactyli, com- 

 prises the family of Woodpeckers, Cuckoos, Parrots, 

 etc. In this division the arrangement of the toes is 

 peculiar, two before and two behind, which enables 

 the bird to grasp with a firmer hold the bark or the 

 branches, while climbing from one part of the tree 

 to another. To the Woodpecker this arrangement is 

 of peculiar service, almost its whole life being spent 

 in clambering over the rough surface of trunks and 

 branches of trees. 



■ The case is much the same with the Parrots, al- 

 though their climbing propensities are confined more 

 to the smaller branches, in which they make good 

 use of their strong hooked beak, hanging on with it, 

 while taking a fresh foothold. 



In the fourth division, Easores, we will notice a 

 marked change, the whole bird difi'ering widely in 

 form and appearance from the preceding; the body 

 becomes larger and less buoyant, the wings less am- 

 ple, and consequently the flight restricted, the bill 

 adapted to picking up seeds and berries or to the 

 cropping of tender herbage, while the feet are formed 

 for walking on the ground and the claws for scratch- 

 2* B 



