CUCKOOS, ETC. 



384. GROOVE-BILLED ANI. 



Crotophaga sulcirostris. 



Range. Mexico and the border of the United 

 States; common in southern Texas. This odd 

 species has a Cuckoo-like form, but is wholly 

 blue black in color, and has a high thin bill 

 with three conspicuous longitudinal grooves on 

 each side. They build 

 large bulky nests of 

 twigs, lined with 

 leaves and grasses, 

 and located in low 

 trees and bushes. They 

 build in small colo- 

 nies but do not, as is 

 claimed of the com- 

 mon Ani, build a large 

 nest for several to oc- 

 cupy. They lay from 



three to five eggs of a greenish blue color, cov- 

 ered with a chalky white deposit. Size 1.25 

 x 1.00. They are laid in May or June. 



38+. 



385. 



Road Runner 

 Groove-billed Ani 



385. ROAD-RUNNER. Geococcyx calif ornianus. 



Range. Western United States from Oregon, Colorado and Kansas, south- 

 ward; most abundant on the Mexican border, and wintering in central Mexico. 



This curious species is known as the "Chaparral 

 Cock," "Ground Cuckoo," "Snake-killer," etc. Its 

 upper parts are a glossy greenish brown, each 

 feather being edged or fringed with whitish; the 

 tail is very long, broad and graduated, the feathers 

 v A being broadly tipped with white. They are noted 

 fo~ their swiftness on foot, paddling over the 

 ; y ground at an astonishing rate, aided by their out- 

 ^ |>' stretched wings and spread tail, which act as 

 aeroplanes; their legs are long and have two toes 

 front and two back. Their food consists of lizards 



QHJ and small snakes, they being particularly savage 



White in their attacks upon the latter. They build rude 



nests of sticks and twigs, in low trees or bushes, 



and during April or May, lay from four to ten eggs, depositing them at inter- 

 vals of several days. They are pure white and measure 1.55 x 1.20. 



243 



