8o 
States, all belong to the order Grallatorcs or Wading Birds.. 
They live along the borders of water-courses and streams, 
from which they pick out the small fishes, insects, and worms 
which serve them as food. 
No. 22.—THE PRAIRIE-DOG VILLAGE. 
The Prairie Marmot (Cynomes ludovicianus ), otherwise 
known as “ Prairie Dog,” is a small, burrowing rodent, much 
resembling the spermophiles, which are common throughout 
the western part of the United States. 
THE PRAIRIE-DOG VILLAGE. 
They are found in immense numbers over the expanse of open 
country between the Missouri river and the Rocky moun¬ 
tains—the villages formed by them sometimes occupying miles 
of country, which is completely honey-combed with their bur¬ 
rows ; they dig to a considerable depth, those in the Garden 
having burrowed under a wall fourteen feet deep; they were 
overcrowded, however, and in a state of nature, with room to 
stretch out their villages on every side, it is not probable that 
they dig so deeply. The dogs are found in close association 
with the burrowing owl and the rattlesnake, which has given 
rise to the supposition that they all live together on terms of 
