16 
THE WILSON BULLETIN— March,’ 1922 
and by the time they were a month old they were capturing 
really worthy quarry, such as the swift striped race-runners, 
horned-lizards, or “ Horny Frogs ” (. Phrynosoma cornu turn ) , and 
tarantula spiders. Once one of them chased a striped lizard a 
great distance only to have the intended victim dive into a hole. 
When I came up the bird was standing behind a bull-nettle, 
watching that hole like a hawk, and panting almost audibly. 
I felt so sorry for the unsuccessful bird that I began digging a 
little about the hole, during which process the intelligent bird 
leaped about with all the enthusiasm of a fox-terrier, rushing in 
for an instant, and then begging me for food by scuttling along 
the ground with fluttering wings, and urgent hissing cries, just 
as baby Road-runners always do. When finally the lizard was 
forced out, he was captured in an instant, beat upon a rock until 
quiet, and then swallowed whole. As the Road-runner and I 
went back to the house he had such a dignified, self-satisfied 
air, that it was really humorous. The smaller gray lizards 
( CuUimurus draconoides ) , were usually captured more easily, 
unless they reached a hole; but the large scaled swifts often had 
the best of the situation, and got away. I remember especially 
one old lizard of this variety which lived in a large wood-pile. 
He could be found out sunning himself almost any time, and the 
Boad-runners, though they made a hundred attempts to get him, 
were never, so far as I know, successful. He was always too 
quick, and dived between the logs just as his pursuer dashed 
past. It was often, however, a very close call for the lizard. 
One day I was surprised that one of the birds had stopped be- 
hind me, and refused to come further. He seemed interested in 
something on the ground near him, so I returned and found 
him standing near a Grasshopper Sparrow, lying on its back 
and panting, apparently unable to move. It is still a question 
whether this bird was wounded by the Road-runner or not, but it 
is noteworthy that the Road-runner had not eaten his victim, 
and also that when 1 picked up the sparrow, the Road-runner did 
not beg for it. Occasionally, however, the birds would make a 
rush for some bird on the ground, though while in Texas I never 
saw them actually capture one. Also, though we were at many 
nests of ground birds, they never ate any eggs. They ate young 
English Sparrows one day which were washed out of an eave- 
pipe, and still alive; and, of course, when fed by me, they never 
refused a bird. 
Near our home there were not a great many snakes, though 
