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zygodactylous
Jan. 7th, 2013 07:22 amzygodactylous (zeye-guh-DAK-til-ous) - adj., (of a bird) having two toes facing forward and two facing backward.
An adaptation for birds that climb tree trunks, such as woodpeckers, parrots, cuckoos, and trogons. Alternate forms include zygodactylic and zygodactyl, the latter of which can also be the noun of being zygodactylous. The first form to appear was zygodactyl, coined in 1828 from Greek roots zygón, yoke (used in scientific language for things that are paired) + dactylos, fingers/toes, but the forms with more apparent English adjectival endings appeared in due course.
---L.
An adaptation for birds that climb tree trunks, such as woodpeckers, parrots, cuckoos, and trogons. Alternate forms include zygodactylic and zygodactyl, the latter of which can also be the noun of being zygodactylous. The first form to appear was zygodactyl, coined in 1828 from Greek roots zygón, yoke (used in scientific language for things that are paired) + dactylos, fingers/toes, but the forms with more apparent English adjectival endings appeared in due course.
---L.
