240 



Bird - Lore 



THE GILA WOODPECKER 



rubber tube operatinj;; its shutter made an 

 admirable swinging percli. 



Early in the morning, the two Desert 

 Sparrows fed their young every few min- 

 utes, but I noticed that when the sun 

 grew hotter, they liked to seek shelter, 

 as we did. The thermometer read 115° 

 in the shade. There were plenty of grass- 

 hoppers. They were the only creatures 

 that seemed to enjoy the heat. 



Once I saw the mother Sparrow hustle 

 over into the next yard and catch a big 

 grasshopper. She had her hands full try- 

 ing to kill the creature, when one of the 

 Arkansas Kingbirds that were nesting 

 in a near-by tree darted down and hovered 

 over her. The frightened Sparrow seized 

 her prey and darted away, with the 

 Kingbird at her tail. Quickly she slid 

 under the fence, where she was protected 

 by the bottom rail. She finished the 

 killing and tore off the wings and legs. 



MEXICAN GROUND DOVE NEST IN MESQUITE 



