1239 At 11:20, when, after returning from an errand, I approached the cage, Rhody spotted me; and when I turned toward the shop, trotted along behind me to get the mouse that he knew would be forthcoming. This creature he took from my fingers, squeezed once and quickly gobbled, the feathers on his neck rising and falling spasmodically for several seconds as the mouse struggled violently. after reaching its destination. Rhody bore this internal activity with philosophic calm-- apparently not incommoded in the least--then mounted to the window sill of the tool-house where he looked at his own reflection with mild interest and without display of any kind. When I left a few minutes later he was sitting on top of the wall looking off to the north, undecided as to whether he should be alarmed or not at the three children playing on an earth embankment 50 yards away. The new home there is now occupied and contains and attracts children. As it is not far from the cage and from Rhody's loaf- ing territory, a new hazard has arisen in what was formerly his protected rear, practically doubling the alarms to which he has been subjected--perhaps even more than that. This has been dis- quieting to him, but as yet, it has not caused him to run away in panic except on the few occasions when the intervening fence has been too closely and noisily approached. These notes show, that, since the dying out of the reproductive cycle, Rhody's treatment of living prey has radically changed. He no longer carries his victims about for hours as offerings to prospective mates, (thus incidentally giving them plenty of time to die comfortably and be swallowed quietly!) but regards them from a purely selfish view-point, hence disposes of them with dispatch, not caring whether they are completely dead or not. At 12:50 P.M. Rhody was in his favorite acacia with bill open and panting. (Temp. 78). This "panting" is a throat action entirely, it would seem, since it is accomplished by rapid expansion A contraction of an inch or two of his throat just below his "gills". The lungs do not seem to be concerned in it at all as inspiration and expiration continue at normal rate. It is as if an entirely independent mass of air were drawn down only part way and then expelled, suggesting that there is some evaporative surf- ace--short of the lungs--that is brought into independent action as a cooling mechanism. This action is analogous to the superposi- tion of of harmonics of higher frequency upon the fundamental low frequency waves in sound and alternating current electricity. It is curious to see a bird like the road-runner with its reputation for preferring hot, desert localities, showing mild distress under such moderate temperature conditions; yet it all goes to show that when it has once adapted itself to a certain environment in which temperature extremes are not great, its tol- erance of wider range is probably lessened. It is by no means improbable that, if Rhody were used to daily maxima of 110 to 120 degrees, he would find 78 chilly. 5:30 P.M. Drs. Grinnell and Mr. Behle arrived at about 4 P.M. to see the birds. Rhody was present until 3:30 but then was unfindable. Brownie, although he had been sitting on my hand tak- ing worms at 3:30, and was located by me after my visitors ar- ived, would not put in an appearance before them. Also the gopher shake refused to catch and swallow a mouse. We were, in fact, drawing a blank and had to fall back upon inspection of nest