178 



THE DESERT 



Wrens and 

 Jly-catchers. 



ment of 

 special 

 characteris- 

 tics. 



snake, but as to that I am not able to give evi- 

 dence. 



And it is not alone the bird of prey — not 

 alone the road-runners, the eagles, the vult- 

 ures, the hawks, and the owls that are savage 

 of mood. Every little wisp of energy that 

 carries a bunch of feathers is endowed with the 

 same spirit. The downward swoop of the cac- 

 tus wren upon a butterfly and the snip of his 

 little scissors bill, the dash after insects of the 

 fly-catchers, vireos, swallows, bats, and whip- 

 poor-wills are just as murderous in kind as the 

 blow of the condor and the vice-like clutch of 

 his talons as they sink into the back of a rab- 

 bit. Skill and strength in the chase are abso- 

 lutely necessary in a desert where food is so 

 scarce, and in proportion the little birds have 

 these qualities in common with the great. 



And naturally, as in the case of the animals, 

 the skill and the strength develop along the line 

 of the bird's needs, producing that quality of 

 character, that fitness for the work cut out for 

 him, to which we have so often referred. There 

 are birds that belong almost solely to the king- 

 dom of the air — birds like the condor, the 

 vulture, and the eagle. Upon the ground they 

 move awkwardly, not having better feet to 



