zygodactyl
Mar. 30th, 2026 07:17 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
prettygoodwordzygodactyl (zai-guh-DAK-til, zig-uh-DAK-til) - adj., (of a bird) having two toes facing forward and two facing backward. n., a zygodactyl bird.
For the adjective sense, also zygodactylous, but that's less common. Most zygodactyls are climbing birds, such as parrots, woodpeckers, and cuckoos (including, interestingly, the decidedly non-climbing roadrunners). The most common arrangement for birds is anisodactyly, with three forward and one back, which is good for perching and some climbing. Contrast also with heterodactyl, which is also two forward/two back, but instead of digits 1 and 4 pointing back it's digits 1 and 2. Coined in 1831 from Ancient Greek roots zygo-, paired (from zugón, yoked/yoke) + -dactyl, digits (from dáktulos, finger).
---L.
For the adjective sense, also zygodactylous, but that's less common. Most zygodactyls are climbing birds, such as parrots, woodpeckers, and cuckoos (including, interestingly, the decidedly non-climbing roadrunners). The most common arrangement for birds is anisodactyly, with three forward and one back, which is good for perching and some climbing. Contrast also with heterodactyl, which is also two forward/two back, but instead of digits 1 and 4 pointing back it's digits 1 and 2. Coined in 1831 from Ancient Greek roots zygo-, paired (from zugón, yoked/yoke) + -dactyl, digits (from dáktulos, finger).
---L.
