44 University of California Publications in Zoology [ Vou. 17 
San Diego cottontail rabbit found in one stomach; three lizards, con- 
sidered beneficial as insect destroyers, taken by three different birds; 
and two honey bees found in different stomachs. Certain of the 
carabid beetles found might by some be considered sufficiently bene- 
ficial to warrant their preservation, but little is yet known of the 
food habits of even the commonest ground-beetles destroyed by the 
roadrunner, namely, the different species of Amara. Until more is 
definitely known it cannot be said that the destruction of these beetles 
by birds is distinctly detrimental. 
The above adverse evidence is minimized in most instances by the 
demonstrated fact that these elements of food are out-of-the-ordinary, 
rather than staple items, for they form very small percentages of the 
food for the year. This is not true, however, in regard to lizards, 
for they form a staple article of diet. Should it be proved that lizards 
are strictly beneficial as insect destroyers, this habit of feeding on 
lizards might, according to present standards, serve to incriminate the 
roadrunner. However, until conclusive evidence shows that the road- 
runner actually reduces in numbers the scaly denizens of the desert 
and in so doing is an adverse factor to inseet control, we are not 
justified in assuming that the lizard-eating propensities of this bird 
place a serious blot on its character. 
The stories regarding the bird-eating habits of the roadrunner 
appear to have some foundation in fact, but much of the evidence 
submitted has been of the circumstantial kind, and with little doubt 
some statements have been grossly exaggerated. The frequent asser- 
tion that roadrunners commonly destroy the eggs and young of the 
valley quail has not been substantiated by this investigation. No 
evidence whatever has been obtained that they destroy the eggs of 
quail or those of any other bird. That they do sometimes destroy young 
quail and other young birds appears to be true, but statements to 
the effect that such destruction is carried on systematically or that 
young birds form a staple article of diet have not been verified. 
Furthermore, our evidence fails to show that quail suffer destruction 
to a greater extent than do other birds. In any ease, the bird-eating 
habit appears to be individual rather than general. 
Evidence pointing toward the usefulness of the roadrunner as a 
valuable destroyer of insects and possibly of rodents, wherever it 
comes in contact with civilization, was obtained as a result of the 
investigation. Chief among the items of food the destruction of which 
must be considered a benefit are: Grasshoppers, crickets, Jerusalem 
