TODUS. 
163 
Species of 
Todus. 
Specific Distinctions of 
Structure. 
Primary 
Types. 
'Toes very syndactyle'J 
or. prehensile ; bill | 
Todtis viridis • long, notchnearly ob- j- I nsessores. 
solete *, claws broad, [ 
obtuse ,..J 
f Bill shorter, the tip 1 
mdanocephaXus.. s more hooked ; claws > Raptores. 
C slender, acute 3 
C Head large ; bill, feet, 1 
megacephalus.... •< and tail shorter than > Natatores. 
C usual ) 
fLegs very long; tail 
(_ the tips pointed........ j 
Thus, if we discriminated these birds as species > 
not by their colour, but by the different shades or 
modifications of their structure, we might almost 
use the very words which would at the same time 
concisely express the leading distinctions of the 
primary types of birds. The Todus viridis has the 
most perfect shaped foot, merely for grasping, in 
this little group ; and the prehensile power of these 
members constitutes the chief distinction of the 
order Insessores among birds, and Quadrumana 
among quadrupeds. The acute claws, and the 
more sudden deflection of the tip of the bill in 
Melanocephalus, and two or three others, are also 
characteristic of the falcons and the shrikes, the 
Raptores and the Dentirostres. The great size of 
the head, coupled with unusual brevity in the tail 
