heterodactylous

American

[het-uh-roh-dak-tuh-luhs] / ˌhɛt ə roʊˈdæk tə ləs /

Also heterodactyl

adjective

Ornithology.

having the first and fourth toes directed backward, and the second and third forward, as in trogons.

First recorded in 1850–55; hetero- + -dactylous

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023