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ORDER III. I 
The birds of this order differ from those of any group 
hitherto described, excepting the Owls, in having the i 
outer toe directed backwards, as well as the first. Feet j 
of this kind have usually been considered as scansorial, ! 
because those of the Woodpeckers, eminently climbing ! 
birds, have the toes similarly arranged ; but the species ' 
of this order are incapable of ascending a perpendicular i 
body in the manner of those birds, and the mere circum- 
stance of the reversion of the fourth toe is not at all indi^ j 
cative of such a habit. It is composed of several of the { 
genera which, having zygodactylous and small feet, have (! 
usually been arranged by authors with the true Scansores, s 
or Woodpeckers, namely, Bucco, Crotophaga, Cuculus, j 
and perhaps others, with their numerous subdivisions. r| 
These birds not having been sufficiently studied by me, | 
I am unable to characterize them in an adequate man- j 
ner. They are all insectivorous, reside in woods andlj 
thickets, among the branches and foliage of which they i' 
search for food, have a rapid gliding, buoyant flight, are ! 
incapable of vralking efficiently on the ground, and are j 
destitute of song. The mouth is wide, the oesophagus nar- i| 
row and nearly uniform, the stomach thin or moderately jj 
muscular, the intestine of moderate length. Such of them 
as are not permanently resident in warm climates, migrate ^ 
into them in autumn, the nature of their food preventing 
their residence during winter in cold countries. In Bri- 
tain there are representatives of only one family. 
