Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- adjective Having two toes projecting forward and two projecting backward, as certain climbing birds.
- noun A zygodactyl bird, such as a parrot.
from The Century Dictionary.
- In ornithology, yoke-toed: noting those birds, or the feet of those birds, which have the toes disposed in pairs, two before and two behind.
- noun A yoke-toed bird; a bird having the toes arranged in pairs.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun (Zoöl.) Any zygodactylous bird.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- adjective Having two
toes pointing forward, and two pointing backward;zygodactylous . - noun ornithology Any such
bird (such as theparrot .)
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- adjective (of bird feet) having the first and fourth toes directed backward the second and third forward
Etymologies
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
Examples
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According to Britannica.com this arrangement is called zygodactyl and is typical of parrots, woodpeckers, cuckoos and a few other kinds.
New Archaeopteryx fossil provides further insight into bird, dinosaur evolution - The Panda's Thumb
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Wood peckers and other birds that climb tree trunks often have these zygodactyl toes.
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He suggested that it evolved semi-zygodactyl feet from an anisodactyl ancestral roller because its large size and specialisation for arboreal life required improved perching abilities.
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It's superficially similar to true rollers (Coraciidae) and ground-rollers (Brachypteraciidae) but, unlike them, has semi-zygodactyl feet (though it has frequently very depicted inaccurately by artists who, in the absence of better information, have assumed that it's anisodactyl, like true rollers).
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Like all parrots, they are zygodactyl, having 4 toes on each foot - two front and two back.
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Given the strong sexual dimorphism and barred, brown female plumage of the Courol, its semi-zygodactyl feet, strong, reinforced jaws, and habit of eating caterpillars, this proposed link - which, ironically, puts the Coural back where it started in 1783 - is intriguing (cuckoos have really interesting jaws, as do the possibly related turacos and hoatzins) [sexual dimorphism in the cuckoo
Comments
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trivet commented on the word zygodactyl
two toes forward, two toes backward - like a nuthatch
February 13, 2007
seanahan commented on the word zygodactyl
Oh, like a nuthatch, that makes perfect sense...
This word is pretty fun to say though.
February 14, 2007
bilby commented on the word zygodactyl
This sounds like a brand-name antibiotic.
May 20, 2008
reesetee commented on the word zygodactyl
It's very useful for making your feet look like those of a nuthatch.
May 20, 2008
mollusque commented on the word zygodactyl
Or a parrot.
May 20, 2008
reesetee commented on the word zygodactyl
Or woodpeckers.
May 21, 2008
bilby commented on the word zygodactyl
Does anyone know the purpose of the nifty toe arrangement?
October 24, 2009
reesetee commented on the word zygodactyl
For birds, it's useful for climbing tree trunks and scurrying through foliage.
October 25, 2009
bilby commented on the word zygodactyl
Ah, thanks for that.
October 25, 2009
mollusque commented on the word zygodactyl
Climbing yes, but which zygodactyls scurry?
October 25, 2009