474 XORTH AMERICAN BIRDS. 



riles ol' tliese shells are ultcii fduud thus collected in places frequented by 

 liu'i*-. They are also said to he ready iind expert in eateliinj^ their prey in 

 tlie air, sometimes springing \\[> to the height of eight or ten feet In these 

 jierforinances the wings and tail are expaiii': ' for hut a moment, the Itill is 

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

 the ground. 



Colonel ^IcCall 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 (piick motion, and tiies some hundreds of yards contiim- 

 ously with an ease that attests its ability to maintain even a longer Hight. 

 He hiis often seen it climb to the top of a straight leafless branch, and there 

 sit, apparently to enjoy the first rays of the morning sun. 



Tiiey aie shy and retiring in disposition, wary, vigilant, and cautious, so 

 that it is generally dillicult to approacii them on the open ground. When 

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

 they t!y witii e\ident ease, they rarely rise higher than six or eight feet from 

 the ground. In evidence of its wonderful swiftness of loot, (,'olonel McCall 

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

 a small ]>arty, he discov(;red a Chaparral Cock in the open road, about a 

 hundred yards in advance, for his amusement he ]tut spurs to his horse, and 

 dashed after tiie bird with one of the men. It was thus jiursued for full four 

 hundriid yards along a smooth and level road, over which with sti'aightened 

 neck and slightly ex])anded wings it swiftly glided without seeming to 

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

 not gained upon it more than fifty yards. 



Cajitain ]\IcCown kejjt a young half-grown bird in confinement, but it re- 

 fus('(l to eat, and soon died ; others, however, have been more fortunate, and 

 ha succeedeil in taming them. 



J)r. lleermann states that the stomachs of all the.se birds examined by 

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

 the plains. A nest of this bird was found by him, built on the brandies 

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

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

 two largt! white and nearly spherical egg,s. 



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

 which is also confirmed by the ob.servations of ^fr. Arthur Schott. 



Lieutenant Couch mentions that this bird, called I'ai.sano by the Mexicans, 

 is als(j held in high estimation by them on account of its enmity to the rat- 

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

 no nu'iuis deficient in courage, it is represented as remarkably (jniet and 

 harmless 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 regai'd to tlieir note, Dr. Cooper mentions hearing one at Fort ]\Iohave 



