ORDER II. 
SCANSORES. 
The essential peculiarities of the Scansores, as already stated, are to be found in the arrange- 
ment of the toes in pairs, (called zygodactyle,) two of them anterior and two posterior, although 
one of the latter is sometimes wanting. If we include the parrots among the other zygodactyle 
birds, there will be found two types of bill : one simple, as in the woodpeckers, the other, as in 
the parrots, with a soft skin at the base similar to the cere of the Raptores. The tail usually 
consists of twelve feathers, although but ten occur in some forms and eight in others. The 
primaries are always ten in number. 
There is considerable diversity in the scutellation of the feet and legs. In the parrots, the 
whole tarsus is covered with small reticulated plates ; in the other families, however, the 
anterior half of the tarsus is usually provided with a series of large transverse scutellae, the 
sides and posterior edge with smaller ones, either reticulated, polygonal, or quadrate. 
The vocal muscles are but little developed in the Scansores, and the voice, in consequence, is 
harsh and without melody. 
The North American Scansores are divisible into four families, having the following characters, 
as given by Burmeister : 
Psittactdae or Parrots. — Bill high, thick, and arched, the tip hooked, and the base with a soft 
skin or cere, as in the hawks. The tarsi covered with small granulated plates. Tail feathers 
twelve. 
Trogonidae or Trogons. — Bill short, broad, and encompassed at the base by long, stiff bristles. 
Feet very small ; the tarsi with broad plates ; the inner anterior toe turned backwards. Tail 
with twelve feathers. 
Cuculidae or Cuckoos. — Bill thin, usually slender, and rather long ; the tip more or less 
decurved ; the base usually without rictal bristles. Tarsi usually rather long, clothed with 
broad plates anteriorly. The tail feathers usually ten, sometimes eight or twelve, all long. 
Picidae or Woodpeckers. — Bill straight, rigid, and chisel-shaped at the tip, the base without 
rictal bristles. The feet are stout, and clothed anteriorly with broad plates. Tail feathers 
twelve ; the exterior very small and concealed. 
