zygodactyl

English

Etymology

From zygo- +‎ -dactyl.

Adjective

zygodactyl (not comparable)

1. Having two toes pointing forward, and two pointing backward; zygodactylous.
   • 2016 November 16, Hanneke Meijer, “Sunny steppes? A tiny parrot fossil suggests Siberia was once subtropical”, in The Guardian‎^[1]:

     In parrots, the tarsometatarsus has a distinct shape resulting from the particular arrangement of parrot toes. As zygodactyl birds, toes number 2 and 3 are facing forward, while toes 1 and 4 are facing backwards.

Noun

zygodactyl (plural zygodactyls)

1. (ornithology) Any bird with toes of this kind, such as the parrot.