100 Recent Literature. ie 
Groénvold’s Illustrations of the Birds of South America.!— The 
plates prepared by Mr. Grénvold ‘to illustrate Brabourne and Chubb’s 
‘Birds of South America’ are now issued in folders as Lord Brabourne’s 
untimely death has prevented the continuance of the work.— W. S. 
Bryant on Food of the Road-runner in California.?— In 1911 and 
1912 when the California Fish and Game Commission collected material 
for a study of the economic status of the Western Meadowlark, a special 
effort was made also to obtain stomachs of Road-runners. Eighty-four were 
collected, and Dr. H. C. Bryant now reports upon their contents. The 
primary object of this investigation of the Road-runner was to learn the rela- 
tion of this ground cuckoo to other birds and particularly to the Valley 
Quail of which it was said to be a serious enemy. It was found that only 
two of the 84 Road-runners had eaten birds. These constituted only 1.7 
per cent of the total food. There are a number of field observations of 
Road-runners devouring birds, but Dr. Bryant concludes that ‘‘ the evidence 
at hand here in California does not justify the wholesale destruction of 
the Road-runner on the ground of its being an enemy of quail or other bird 
life.” 
The almost omnivorous habits of Geococcyx are well illustrated by 
Dr. Bryant’s analyses. The principal items of food, besides birds (already 
mentioned), are vegetable matter, about 10 per cent, chiefly seeds of Rhus 
integrifolia, orthoptera, 36.82 per cent, beetles, 18.2 per cent, lepidoptera, 
7.5 per cent, bugs 5 per cent, hymenoptera 4 per cent, and reptiles 3.7 
per cent. Spiders, scorpions, millipeds and centipeds also were devoured. 
The published information on the food of the road-runner in California 
is quoted, and a full bibliography given. The paper is well illustrated 
also, by tables, diagrams and half-tones. There are some errors in the 
spelling of scientific names and lack of system in the lists of species of insects 
identified. The statement that “in this habit of feeding upon reptiles, 
the Road-runner is almost unique among birds, with perhaps the exception 
of certain hawks and owls” (p. 37), also is objectionable. In its present 
broad form the pronouncement obviously is inaccurate. Even had its 
application been definitely restricted to the United States, the statement 
would still be too comprehensive. The fact is there are few families of 
land birds, but have representatives among the reptile eating species. 
Among these are the Herons, Chuck-will’s-widow, Woodpeckers, Fly- 
catchers, Crows, Jays, Magpies, Meadowlarks, Grackles, Butcherbirds, 
Thrashers, Mockingbird, Wrens, and Thrushes. So small a bird as the 
Carolina Wren is an habitual lizard eater. 
These are minor defects, however, and as it stands the paper is not only 
creditable to its author, but also is the best statement of the food of the 
Road-runner that has been published.— W. L. M. 
1 Illustrations to “ The Birds of South America.’ By H. Grénvold. Parts I, II, III, IV. 
2 Uniy. Calif. Publ. in Zool., 17, No. 5, pp. 21-58, pls. 1-4. October 26, 1916. 
