348 
SCANSORES. 
We have now described all the members of 
the Conirostres which can be numbered in the 
British list, and in entering the next tribe of the 
great incessorial order, we pass a wide gap, 
our more northern country possessing in the first 
no representation of the Musop/iagidte or Buce- 
ridce, while those belonging to the Scansores 
are few in number, and belong only to scattered 
genera. The third tribe, the Scansores or 
Climbers, are characterized by the structure 
which adopts all their members for climbing or 
hanging among trees, in some developed to the 
utmost extent, and enabling the birds to scale the 
smooth and upright trunks ; in others more adapted 
to grasping and hanging among the branches ; 
in all, the structure of the feet is intimately con- 
nected with this provision, and we find them 
strongly formed, the tarsus short, and the toes 
in the greater number placed in a zygodactyle 
manner, or two turned forward, two standing 
behind, one of which is frequently versatile. 
In some genera the bill is so formed, as to take 
the place of a prehensile organ, and assists in the 
support. On entering this tribe, we have to pass 
the remarkable genera of the Toucans, with the 
numerous and varied forms of the Parrots, but 
we fortunately possess a few representations of 
the typical family, the Picidce, or Woodpeckers, 
