Life in the Sierra Marde 221 



ordinary buzzard soars over the cafions, and the road- 

 runner, or paisano, garbed in splendid colours, runs 

 along the trail. In the open, the ground-squirrel lives 

 in burrows, uttering a peculiar cry, " spink, spink" re- 

 sembling the blow of a blaster boring a hole in hard 

 granite. You may occasionally see a badger, and count- 

 less little blue-throated lizards bask on the rocks, while 

 beneath them you find one with a turquoise-blue tail. 



Southern California is remarkable for its freedom 

 from disagreeable animals. In my travels I have never 

 encountered an adult rattlesnake, though they are here, 

 and rarely have I seen snakes of any kind, except the 

 gopher snake. Tarantulas and scorpions are indige- 

 nous to the soil, but are rarely seen. The horned toad 

 is the common lizard, harmless, and an interesting pet. 

 The variety of birds is endless, and the chorus of song 

 about the homes at sunrise in early spring is one of the 

 charming features of a remarkable country. 



