Page:Natural History, Birds.djvu/190

Rh even run on perpendicular and inverted surfaces with much more facility than any of the so called Scansorial birds.



As so little can be predicated of these birds in common, with the exception of the structural peculiarity above-noted, we defer the summary of habits and economy, until we define the respective Families which are included in the order. These are four in number, Rhamphastidæ, Psittacidæ, Picidæ, and Cuculidæ. Of these, the first is confined to the southern portion of the New World; the others are spread widely over both hemispheres.