SOANSORES. BIRDS. Riiamphastid.®. 
372 
Scansorial birds, exhibit characters which would seem 
to justify their being placed as an order by themselves. 
Their feet— fig. 119 — are powerful, furnished with long 
grasping toes, and covered with a granular skin, 
rarely exhibiting scales or plates except towards the 
extremities of the toes. The latter are provided with 
Fig. 119. 
Foot of Common Parrot. 
soft pads beneath, ffnd the whole foot is adapted for 
firmly clasping any olject in the manner of a hand. 
In accordance witli this structure, the great majority of 
the Parrots dwell in trees, upon the brandies of whicli 
they cling and climb about in every possible position, 
the conformation of their feet rendering them almost as 
active in climbing as the monkeys, to which they must 
be regarded as analogous amongst birds. 
In the Woodpeckers, forming another principal 
group of these birds, tlie feet are dilferently constructed, 
and adapted for a very dillerent kind of climbing. The 
tarsi and toes in the Woodpeckers are shielded in front 
— lig. 120. The toes are not fitted for grasping in the 
Fig. 120. 
Foot of Woodpecker. 
manner of those of the Parrots, but are long, and fur- 
nished with acute curved claws, by the agency of which 
the birds are enabled to cling firmly to the rough bark 
of trees, and thus to run rather tlian climb upon their 
trunks. By the reversal of the outer toes, two claws 
are brought beliind in each foot, an arrangement wliich 
is of much use to the bird in running down tlie trunk 
of a tree with its head downwards, and the tarsus is 
depressed between the two hind toes, so as to iorm a 
sort of sole upon which the bird rests in ascending. 
The afilnities of the Woodpeckers would seem to be 
with the Tenuirostral birds, if they are to be tran.sferred 
to the Passerine order. 
The Cuckoos and Toucans, which form tlie rest of 
this order, although furnished with Zygodactyle feet, 
do not appear to be truly Scansorial in their habits, 
but ratlier perching birds with Scansorial feet. Tlie 
former might be placed with the Fissirostral birds, and 
the latter seem to approach tlie Ilornbills. The four 
types just mentioned form the four families of this 
order. We commence with the Toucans. 
Family I.— EHAMPHASTID^. 
The birds of this family are distinguished, like those 
of the concluding group of the preceding order, by the 
great development of the bill, which is sometimes so 
large as to throw the bird himself completely into the 
shade; sojthat we cannot wonder at the name of 
Tout-hec, or All-hill, being applied to some of the 
Toucans by the French colonists of Guiana. The 
general form of the bill is very similar to that prevail- 
ing in the Ilornbills, but usually rather less tapering 
towards the extremity. It is also destitute of those 
remarkable protuberances which give some of the 
Ilornbills such a singular aspect. As in the Ilornbills, 
however, the substance of the bill is cellular or spongy, 
so that, notwithstanding its apparently unwieldy bulk, 
it is too light to present any obstacle to the tolerably 
active movements of the birds. The margins of both 
mandibles are denticulated throughout their length, 
and the curved tip of the bill is ordinarily sharp. The 
tongue in these birds is perhaps more remarkable than 
the bill, being exactlj^ like a feather. A strong carti- 
laginous stalk runs up the centre, bordered on each 
side with long and slender barbs, which are placed 
close together as in an ordinary feather, and increase 
in length as they approach the extremity of this singn 
lar tongue. The Indians of South America attribute 
extraordinary virtues to this feather-like organ, and 
employ it as a remedy in various diseases. The tarsi 
are short, but terminated by long and powerful toes, 
and the proportions of the legs and feet adapt the 
Toucans but badly for moving on the ground, where 
they cannot walk, but hop along with a very bad grace. 
Both the tarsi and the toes are covered with shield-like 
plates on the upper or anterior surface. 
The Toucans are exclusively inhabitants of the 
warmer regions of America, where they abound in 
many parts of the forests. They are usually seen in 
small ilocks, hopping from branch to branch of the 
highest trees. They are shy and cautious in their 
habits, and feed principally upon fruits, especially 
bananas, which they swallow whole. By some writers 
tliey have been said to throw the fruit uj)on which 
the}' feed up into the air, and then catching it with 
widely open bill, allow it to plunge down into the 
throat. It would appear, however, that their usual 
mode of proceeding is to take the fruit up between the 
mandibles, and then throwing the head back, leave it 
to roll down to its destination. They do not migrate, but 
wander about the country, making their appear.ance in 
greater numbers in certain districts, when somefirvourite 
fruit happens to be ripe there. Fruits, however, are 
not their only diet, but, on the contrary, they feed freely 
on animal substances, killing and devouring small birds 
and reptiles, plundering the nests of other birds of their 
eggs, and even occasionally making a meal upon fish, 
woi-ms, and the larvie of insects. 
Even when in motion amongst the branches of the 
trees, the large beaks of the Toucans give them a 
