File:A - birding on a bronco (1896) (14755385025).jpg

Identifier: birdingonbronco00bail (find matches)
Title: A - birding on a bronco
Year: 1896 (1890s)
Authors: Bailey, Florence Merriam, b. 1863
Subjects: Birds -- California San Diego County
Publisher: Boston New York : Houghton, Mifflin and Co. : Cambridge, MA : The Riverside Press
Contributing Library: American Museum of Natural History Library
Digitizing Sponsor: Biodiversity Heritage Library

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eemed as if the individualbirds respected one anothers lines so as not tocover the same ground. Sometimes when soaringthey seemed to rest on the air and let themselvesbe borne by the wind : for they wobbled fromone side to the other like a cork on rough water. One of the most interesting birds of the valleyis the road-runner or chaparral cock, a grayishbrown bird who stands almost as high as a crowand has a tail.as long as a magpies. He is notedfor his swiftness of foot. Sometimes, when wewere driving over the hills, a road-runner wouldstart out of the brush on a lonely part of theroad and for quite a distance keep ahead of thehorses, although they trotted freely along. Whentired of running he would dash off into the brush,where he stopped himself by suddenly throwinghis long tail over his back. A Texan, in talkingof the bird, said, It takes a right peart cur tocatch one, and added that when a road-runner ischased he will rise but once, for his main reliance AROUND OUR RANCH-HOUSE. 99
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5^r - - ^i Valley Quail and Road-Ivunner. is in liis running-, and he does not trust much tohis short wings. The chaparral cocks nested inthe cactus on our liills, and were said to livelargely on lizards and horned toads. It became evident that a pair of these singularbirds had taken up quarters in the chaparral on 100 A-BIRDING ON A BRONCO. the hillside back of the ranch-house, for one ofthem was often seen with the hens in the door-yard. One day I was talking to the ranchmanwhen the road-runner appeared. He paid noattention to us, but went straight to the hen-house, apparently to get cocoons. Looking be-tween the laths, I could see him at work. Heflew up on the hen-roosts as if quite at home ; hehad been there before and knew the ways of thehouse. He even dashed into the peak of the roofand brought down the white cocoon balls danglingw^ith cobweb. When he had finished his hunthe stood in the doorway, and a pair of blackbirdslit on the fence post over his head, looking downat him won

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