164 Three Young Crusoe s 



to see with its dark, lead-colored coat and wine- 

 colored head markings. One of the most interest- 

 ing birds was the burrowing owl, which dug holes 

 from five to ten feet long and laid seven to nine 

 white eggs. The young made a noise like a rattle- 

 snake. 



The lizards were often caught by hawks, but it 

 was strange to see a kind of cuckoo, called the lizard 

 catcher, engaged in this business. It would remain 

 perfectly quiet until a lizard got within range, then 

 dart upon it and kill it. This bird was a foot and a 

 half long, ashy-brown above, and ashy-white below, 

 with a long, loud call. 



Another cuckoo, called the blackbird or ani, lived 

 in large fiocks and ate cattle ticks. All the birds of 

 a flock laid their deep-green eggs in one big nest, 

 with layers of leaves between them. This bird can 

 be taught to talk, like a crow. 



The todies, of which there were several kinds, 

 looked like miniature kingfishers. One kind made 

 burrows in banks with its beak and laid white eggs 

 exactly like small kingfisher's eggs. It was very 

 tame and apparently lazy until an insect came near, 

 when it would dart at it with the quickness of a 

 hawk. The green tody, sometimes called robin, 

 laid three or four eggs at the end of its burrow on a 



