Taken near 

 Photo by the 



Then, scrutiny forgotten, the bird proceeds to 

 have as much fun in that commonplace pasture 

 as a boy at a circus. The mere suggestion of a 

 cricket brings this racing outfit all up standing 

 with neck outstretched, crest erected, and 

 tail raised to an angle of forty-five degrees. 

 It is a thrilling moment; and these thrillers 

 recur in the active life of the cuckoo about 

 once in every six seconds. The in- 

 sect dispatched, the bird suddenly 

 leaps six feet high to snatch a passing 

 beetle. Bravo! Gusto! Avanti! 

 Mais nonl the bird recalls your gaze, 

 assumes instantly a meek expression, 

 tilts the tail sidewise in 

 token of self-effacement, 

 and makes as though to 

 leave. As she goes, she 

 minces in pretended fas- 

 tidiousness, or reels in 

 pretended intoxication, 

 until — psst! the bird is 

 faced about, head up, 

 tail up, every outline 

 filling the picture of 

 clownish exaggeration. 

 "Gracious! I nearly 

 ■crouching was the favorite attitude" stepped on an ant!" 



And just as you prepare to dismount and bring your binoculars to bear 

 upon the bird, she melts into a fringe of sage, and the exhibition is over 

 for that day — mayhap for that month ! 



Seen on the desert proper, the Road-runner strikes you instantly as 

 being the fitting thing. The purplish-blue and bottle-green of the upper- 

 parts, relieved by whitish edgings, fade before a background of glistening 

 cholla or of fiery sand. If you are moved to pursuit, the bird laughs at you 

 over giant strides, as, head down, tail depressed, it makes off with incred- 

 ible ease. By a side swing of the tail the bird can round a bush with the 

 utmost alacrity; or by a sudden expansion of that member, can put on the 

 brakes instanter. With its long hooked beak the bird can deal out justice 

 to centipede, horned toad, or lizard, even snake or scorpion; and it is in- 

 teresting to note that the bird's head is protected against, say, the insen- 

 sate lashings of a lizard's tail, by an array of stiff bristles scattered through 



Santa Barbara 

 Author 



II^O 



