474 NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS. 



riles i)i these shells are ntteii touiul thus collected in places frequented by 

 llieni. They are also said t<» Ite ready and exi)ert in eatchin<; their prey in 

 the air, sometimes sprinuin,!^ up to the height of eight or ten feet In these 

 jterhtrmanees tlie wings and tail are expanded for lait a moment, the hill is 

 heard to snap as tlie insect is seized, and the bird drops again suddenly to 

 the ground. 



Colonel McCall adds that the general impression that its powers of flight 

 are very limited is not correct. When suddenly alarmed in open ground, it 

 rises with a light ([uick motion, and tlies some hundreds of yards continu- 

 ously with an ease that attests its al)ility to maintain even a longer flight. 

 He has often seen it climb to the top of a straight leafless bmnch, and there 

 sit, aj)]>arently to enjoy the first r '^ of the morning sun. 



They aie shy and retiring in d sition, wary, vigilant, and cautious, so 

 that it is generally diflicult to approach them on the open ground. When 

 suddenly surprised and driven to fly a eonsidenible distance for cover, though 

 they fly with evident ease, they rarely rise higher than six or eight feet from 

 the ground. In evi(1ence of its wonderful swiftness of foot, Colonel McCall 

 states that when on one occasion, a])proaching Limi)ia Creek, in Texas, with 

 a small jcirty, he discovered a Chaparral Cock in the open road, about a 

 hundretl yards in advance, for his anmsement he put spurs to his horse, and 

 dashetl after the bird with one of the men. It was thus pursued for full four 

 hundred vards along a smooth and level road, over which with stmightened 

 neck an<l slightly ex])anded wings it swiftly glided without seeming to 

 touch the ground. When at last it sought shelter in the thicket, they had 

 not irained ui)on it more than fifty vards. 



Captain McCown kei>t a young half-gTown bird in confinement, but it re- 

 fused to eat, and soon died ; others, however, have been more fortunate, and 

 hiive succeeded in taming them. 



Dr. Heermann states that the stomachs of all these birds examined by 

 him were filled with the grasshoppers and the large Idack beetles found on 

 the idains. A nest of this bird was found by him, built on the branches 

 of the cactus, and constructed of loose sticks put negligently together in 

 a manner similar to the nests of the Yellow-billed Cuckoos. It contained 

 two large white and nearly s])herical esjixs. 



Dr. (Jambel states that these birds devour reptiles as well as other insects, 

 wliich is also confirmed by the observations of ^Ir. Arthur Schott. 



Lieutenant Couch mentions that this bird, called Paisano by the Mexicans, 

 is also held in high estimation l>y them on account of its enmity to the rat- 

 tle-snake, which it usually succeeds in killing in fair combat Though by 

 no means deficient in courage, it is represented as remarkably (piiet and 

 harndess in its habits. The only note he heard from it was a weak scream, 

 which is seldom uttered. It is unsocial, is never seen in flocks, and rarely 

 wanders from its restricted locality. 



In regard to their note, Dr. Cooper mentions hearing one at Fort Mohave 



