HUNTING BIRDS WITH A CAMERA 



A PET ROAD RUNNER SWAEEOWING A EIZARD 



A lizard is always eaten head first and when he once starts down a young Road Runner's 

 throat, his scales prevent him from backing out. The head is digested first and in a short time 

 the tail disappears with a final gulp (see text, page 201). 



him looking for his real mother. She 

 looked at two more that sat screaming, 

 but passed them by and knocked another 

 sprawling out of her way. At last a chick 

 came up that seemed to qualify, for she 

 let him crawl under her wing. Moreover, 

 the same thing seemed to be going on in 

 every part of the ledge, and I did not see 

 any of the old birds accept a chick until 

 after calling and looking around for 

 several minutes. 



The result of these experiments seems 

 to prove that scientist right who, some 

 years ago, claimed that nature has not 

 lavished pigment on the Murre's egg with- 

 out purpose, but that the wide variation 

 in size, shape, and color undoubtedly 

 helps the Murre to recognize her own. 

 After the eggs are hatched, the difference 

 in pitch, volume, and quality of the voices 

 may tell the mother which chick belongs 

 to her. 



It is most interesting to watch the ar- 

 rival of a Murre mate as he comes from 

 the fishing ground to relieve the brooding 

 mother. Sweeping in on swift wings, he 

 begins to slacken speed when about 20 



feet from the ledge, drops his legs, and 

 back-paddles as awkwardly as a man who 

 slips on a banana peel ; and he lands 

 sprawled out on the rock much as the 

 man lands on the sidewalk. 



Then, like a person anxious to penetrate 

 a Fourth of July crowd, he looks for an 

 opening in the dense front ranks. Seeing 

 none, he boldly sets out to make one by 

 squeezing in and shoving from right to 

 left. The neighbors resent such behavior 

 by pecking him, but he presses on, amid 

 opposition and complaint, until he reaches 

 his mate. 



They change places and he begins his 

 vigil on the egg. His mate, instead of 

 taking flight from where she stands, usu- 

 ally goes through the same proceeding in 

 reverse order until she reaches the outer 

 edge of the rock and makes a cpick launch 

 seaward. 



SEEKING TEIE HAUNTS OF THE WIED GEESE 



AVhen a boy I had watched the wedges 

 of Geese cutting southward each autumn 

 and the other flocks of wild fowl wing- 

 ing silently on their way. Each spring I 



