20 DENIZENS OF THE DESERT 



But the "coo" seems to be an explosive utter- 

 ance. 



Many times during the spring days I have 

 been awakened in the morning by this last 

 peculiar song. So loudly and vigorously were 

 the notes "cook — cook — cook" given that I 

 could not help but fancy this almost-human 

 mischief-loving bird calling for me to get up to 

 cook for him his breakfast. 



When the road-runner looks at you he almost 

 always gazes at you steadily with one eye, his 

 head being turned sidewise to you. Thus he 

 gets the best possible view of you. The curious 

 thing is, that at the same time he is viewing 

 you, he, with his other eye, may be scrutinizing 

 and recording an image of another object on 

 the other side of him — he watches two fields of 

 possible interest at the same time. Again, if 

 he wills it, he suppresses the vision of one eye, 

 ignores its sensations, and focuses his entire 

 attention on an object of interest before the 

 other. If you will watch him gazing skyward at 

 a hawk, you will see him with his head turned 

 sidewise, one eye turned downward (its vision 

 repressed) and the other upward, its attention 



