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TEXTBOOK OF ZOOLOGY 



in bushes and trees. The road runner or chaparral bird is quite com- 

 mon along- the roads from central Texas on southwest. It is a slender 

 bird of fair size with a tail as long as the body. It feeds on grass- 

 hoppers, mice, lizards, and small snakes. Many strange stories are 



Fig. 313. — Burrowing or prairie dog owl, Speotyto cunicularia. Common on the 



plains around prairie dog towns. 



told about its battles with rattlesnakes. The ani is common in Mexico 

 and gets over into the United States occasionally. They are thought 

 to lay their eggs in community nests somewhat as the ostrich does. 



