■ 
-V. 
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 non! 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 
114.0 
