The CLIMBING BIRDS (_Scansor_) are for the most part recognisable by their slender though powerful body, short neck, and large head. The long or medium-sized beak is either strong and conical, or weak and of a curved form; the feet are short, and the long toes either arranged in pairs or placed together in the usual manner, and armed with long, hooked, and sharp claws. The moderate-sized wing, which is usually rounded at its extremity, and occasionally of great breadth, is never slender or pointed; the formation of the tail is very various. Anything like a general description of the plumage possessed by the different groups of this order would be impossible; some, glittering with gay and even resplendent colours, dart through the air like living gems, whilst others are clad in such dull and sombre livery as to be scarcely distinguishable from the earth or trees upon which they are formed to live. The various representatives of the _Scansor_ may be said to occupy almost every region of our earth; some groups are migratory, and leave their native lands annually with the utmost regularity, whilst others remain throughout the entire year within a certain limited district. Woods and forests are the localities principally occupied by these birds, though they are by no means incapable of ascending rocks, or seeking for their food upon the ground, over the surface of which they run with considerable facility. Their flight is good, but it is upon the trees alone that the _Scansor_ exhibit the full beauty and ease of their movements. All the members of this order consume insects, and many devour fruit, berries, seeds, honey, and the pollen of plants. As regards their powers of song they are by no means gifted; indeed, the most highly endowed amongst them rarely rise above the utterance of a few pleasing notes during the breeding season. The construction of the nests of the _Scansor_ varies so considerably that we shall confine ourselves to speaking of them in their appropriate places. It is usual among systematic writers to associate many of the birds which we have included in the present order as slender-billed forms of one or other of the preceding divisions, more especially those usually denominated TENUIROSTRES, and perhaps we shall be harshly judged for our departure from the usual custom; be that as it may, the resemblance between some of the Climbing Birds and some Singing Birds is undeniable, and it is upon that ground that we treat of them in this place. * * * * * The TENUIROSTRAL species are distinguishable from all others by the slenderness of their beak, which is usually more or less curved, and by the feebleness of their feet, the toes of which are not arranged in pairs. They may be grouped as follows:-- * * * * *