WITH BROWN PREDOMINATING 183 
five eggs. Another in an oak, eight feet from the 
ground, looked as if it might have been built originally 
by a jay and relined with a few dried leaves. Several 
were in clumps of cactus ; and one was within a foot of 
the ground, on a broken part of a log, well sheltered by 
bushes, — the bird perhaps having fancied that the log 
was part of the bush. This nest was quite elaborately 
constructed of twigs and lined with cow-hair, snake- 
skin, and feathers interwoven with rootlets. It con- 
tained, June 3, five young birds, covered with quills. 
Twenty-four hours later, every feather on three of them 
had burst its sheath, and they were apparently ready for 
their début ; but they clung desperately to the nest with 
their strong feet when an attempt was made to lift them 
from it. The noise made by the young resembled the 
click of two pieces of wood — not metal — striking 
sharply together, and did not fail to bring both parents 
to the scene. They were very angry, and presented a 
ludicrous though more or less formidable defence, with 
bills snapping sharply, wings and head _ bristling, and 
Jong tail wagging. But they preferred discretion to 
valor, and on being pursued slunk away swiftly after the 
manner of cuckoos. 
In Southern California the Road-runners begin nesting 
in March, and eggs are found late in June; hence we 
may infer that in some instances even three broods are 
raised in a single season. I believe, however, that this 
is true only when an accident destroys the eggs or young 
of the earlier broods. The Mexicans insist that the 
pairs remain united throughout the entire year; but I 
