THE CALIFORNIA ROAD-RUNNER 15 



" Immediately, " says Mr. Pemberton, "it be- 

 gan to squirm, scramble, and drag itself away 

 across an open space and in full view. The bird 

 was simulating a broken leg instead of a broken 

 wing! The bird held its wings closed through- 

 out the demonstration, though frequently fall- 

 ing over on its side in its enthusiasm. The 

 whole performance was kept entirely in my 

 view, the bird gradually working away from the 

 tree until it was some thirty-five feet distant, 

 when it immediately ran back to the base of 

 the tree and repeated the whole show. I had 

 been so interested up to now that I had failed 

 to examine the nest, which, when looked into, 

 contained five young probably a week old. 

 When I got to the ground the bird continued 

 its 'stunt' rather more frantically than before, 

 and in order to encourage the bird I followed, 

 and was pleased to see it remain highly con- 

 sistent until I was decoyed to a point well out- 

 side the grove. Here the bird ran suddenly 

 away at full speed and in a direction still away 

 from the nest." 



There are many versions of the story which 

 points out the chaparral cock as a killer of 



