176 



THE DESERT 



Thefood 

 problem. 



The heat 

 and drouth 

 again. 



a coyote cannot reach to their top at a jump ; 

 nor are the spines and ledges of rock in the 

 mountains so steep that a wild cat cannot climb 

 up them. 



No ; the bird is subject to the same dangers 

 as the animals and the plants. Something is 

 forever on his trail. He must always be on 

 guard. And the food problem, ever of vital 

 interest to bird-life, bothers him just as much 

 as it does the coyote. There is little for him 

 to eat and nothing for him to drink ; and hard- 

 ly a resting-place for the sole of his foot. Be- 

 sides, it would seem as though he should be af- 

 fected by the intense heat more than he is in 

 reality. Humanity at times has difficulty in 

 withstanding this heat, for though it is not 

 suffocating, it parches the mouth and dries up 

 the blood so rapidly that if water is not attain- 

 able the effect is soon apparent. The animals — 

 that is, the wild ones — are not disturbed by it ; 

 but the domestic horse, dog, and cow yield to 

 it almost as readily as a man. And men and 

 animals are all of low-blood temperature — a 

 man's normal temperature being about 98 F. 

 But what of the bird in his coat of feathers 

 which may add to or detract from his warmth ? 

 What is his normal temperature ? It varies 



