:::::::::*^ TWO BIRD-LOVERS IN MEXICO B:-"."" 



camp, and of its nest and eggs and wanderings nothing 

 is known. This bird which came so famiHarly to drink 

 at the pools was once joined by its mate — presnmably 

 — and the two hawked together over the low rocky 

 ground, engulfing unfortunate gnats and moths. More 

 abundant, but absolutely silent, the Mexican Whip-poor- 

 wills haunted the bushes, beating- the insects from their 

 tops and snatching them as they took to flight. 



MYSTERIES OF THE NIGHT 



A Ring-tailed Cat squealed from the entrance of its 

 cave somewhere up among the dense shadows on the 

 cliff wall, and presently the little animal leaped to some 

 overhanging tree and scrambled down to level ground. 

 This creature long remained a mystery to us. 



By obstructing and turning aside the gentle flow 

 of the spring, the soft, smooth, muddy floor of one 

 of the pools was each evening uncovered, and on this 

 telltale mirror of earth the animals which passed in 

 the night, on their way to drink, registered their every 

 movement. Raccoons and deer we easily recognized, 

 but several sizes of true bear-like palms confused us. 

 We knew also that no coyotes or Mexican dogs were 

 thereabouts, although here were tracks to put our 

 knowledge to naught. 



By tempting with the skinned bodies of birds and 

 with bits of refuse food placed on a certain boulder, 

 we gradually w^on the confidence of all the more wary 



4 218 ^ 



