18 
THE WILSON BULLETIN— March, 1922 
First, that though the bird often swallows food alive, it is in 
such state uncomfortable. Second, that though a spiny horned 
frog is swallowed head first, he may nevertheless be coughed up 
in such a manner as not to hurt the lining of the throat. Third, 
in the case of the chick, while the Road-runner was still quite 
undeveloped, it may be that the sense of choosing proper food 
is located in the crop or gullet, rather than in the mandibles, as 
it undoubtedly is in the older birds, if indeed, the young have 
power of choosing their food under abnormal circumstances. 
Rarely did I ever see a Road-runner refuse to eat anything in 
the insect line. Whenever I overturned a flat rock, everything 
in sight was eaten, save the ants, which I believe were passed 
by on account of their small size. Scorpions, after their tails 
and bodies had been thoroughly bitten, were swallowed with a 
peculiar hollow gulp, as though the bird were merely swallowing 
air. Centipedes were always thoroughly killed before being 
swallowed, and tarantula spiders had all the legs snipped off 
before the body went down. Snails were often eaten, shells and 
all, though the shell was sometimes crushed. These snails were 
often very common on the prairie vegetation, and were ordinar- 
ily passed by, on account of abundance of other food. Never did 
L see a Road-runner eat cactus fruit, or in fact any vegetable 
matter save once some bread soaked in milk, and once a piece of 
grass — swallowed apparently in play. Wasps, however, were 
not sought at all, nor were bees. Though one was eaten when 
fed to the bird, it was not swallowed until after a prolonged 
beating, mauling, and inspection. 
One day one of the birds captured a cotton rat (Sigmodon ) , 
as it ran between some stones in a cactus clump. The rat, prob- 
ably bitten severely, was tossed some feet by one bird, picked up 
by the other bird and whacked with a sullen thud on the ground, 
before he knew what had happened. Every action of the birds 
was so quick that there was no time for escape. This rat, when 
finally killed, was swallowed entire by the smaller bird, and the 
hind feet and tail stuck out of the bird’s mouth for some time, 
before finally disappearing. At such a time the bird assumed a 
very erect and stilted attitude, no doubt to maintain its balance. 
The fact that these birds occasionally indulged in orgies of 
mud eating has caused considerable speculation. Mrs. Alice 
Hall Walters (Rird-Lore, Yol. XVI 1, No. 1, p. 01) states that this 
may be due to the bird’s need for gravel, but I am inclined to 
doubt this, since, as she states, it is not customary for carni- 
