﻿EXTERNAL ANATOMY. FEET OF MUSOPHAGA. 151 



sition, that it can occasionally walk tolerably well, and 

 hop with facility from branch to branch : both these 

 motions, however, are completely denied to the king- 

 fishers and the bee-eaters, a conclusion that may be 

 arrived at even by an inspection of their feet. Never- 

 theless, as the Buceridce are the Fissirostral family of the 

 Conirostres, they represent, by analogy, the kingfishers, 

 and the Natatorial order, the leading character of this 

 type being to have the feet short, and imperfectly de- 

 veloped. 



(130.) The feet of the Musophagidce or plantain-eaters, 



pliability of life. The middle toe (a) is much lengthened, 

 and the hinder (b) is the shortest, but the two lateral are 

 perfectly even, and there can be no doubt that their or- 



Species Avium. " Digiti omnes incequalis" articles Chizaerhis and 

 rhimusj the latter.the Musophaga of all other ornithologists. The attempt 

 of this author to strike out the name of Musophaga from our systems, and 

 substitute one of his own coinage, will be as futile as it is silly and pedantic. 



d 



must not be passed over, 

 seeing that no author has cor- 

 rectly described their struc- 

 ture, which is very peculiar. 

 (fig. 81.) Isert, the original 

 discoverer and describer of 

 the magnificent Musophaga 

 violacea, says that its toes are 

 three before, and one be- 

 hind ; others maintain that 

 its feet are like those of a 

 cuckow, and even very re- 

 cently it has been asserted 

 that all the toes are un- 

 equal *, like those of the va- 

 riegated species, and of the 

 genus Corythaioc. A beau- 

 tiful skin of Musophaga 

 violacea, is now before us, 

 with the feet relaxed, so 

 that the parts have all the 



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