1324. R5's roosting posture (at night). While it may be said that this bird was "in his night- roost" all day, still it was not until about 3:35 that he was seen in the typical road-runner night posture in a location evidently selected for the night. He had gone to the highest point in the upper story, was backed against the wall with tail flat- tend vertically against the boards. December 19th. (Sunrise 7:20, sunset 4:53; the day is "getting longer on one end and shorter on the other"). The day began cloudy, windy and rain threatening. R5. Now eating? About 9:30, as I approached the cage, R5 jumped up from the floor to his retreat. The mouse in the bottle was still there. (I.e. a fresh one, as the other one had been returned for the night to his fellows). The meat had been disturbed, but not eaten. A can 12" in diameter and 10" deep was substituted for the bottle and the mouse transferred. A new supply of meal-worms was placed in a heap of bran nearby. In about a half hour the mouse was gone and only one of the worms could be found. The can is one from which sluggish white mice can not ordinarily escape --in fact, on test, have never been able to get out. The place where the meal-worms were put is such that if they had crawled away, practically all of them could have been found. A fresh mouse and more worms were placed as before, at 10:45. At 11:30 not one worm to be found; tracks in the bran; mouse still in can; R5 seen on ground by Julio a few moments before. All meat untouched. (Each piece is definitely placed). R not up. Rhody had previously (10:40) been found in his night roost; windy there. At 11:55 R5 was again seen on the ground, retreating at once to his place in the upper story. The mouse was still there. A fresh supply of meal-worms was furnished. At 12:05 only 10 meal-worms left, none found farther than about a foot from the group and then only four. R5 was sitting lower down in the acacia branch, quietly. He had clearly moved since 11:55 and is undoubtedly eating the worms. All other food as be- fore. R5 behaves very sensibly now when he sees anybody approaching. If in his roost, he merely stays there. If on the ground, goes to it directly by shortest route and stays there motionless. No senseless panics, flutterings and endeavors to escape. He is coming out of concealment often. At 12:25 still 10 worms; two had crawled about 18", the rest about as they were. R5 still lower (hence nearer to me when I enter) on a cross perch through the foliage of acacia branch in upper story. His tail cocked up at right angles against a perch directly above and parallel. This is sleeping posture, and may mean that he has eaten enough and retired for the day--but I doubt: it. At 12:50 I got a glimpse of R5 making two clean leaps from the ground to his retreat--not any useless movement whatever. He had eaten the rest of the worms, but not the mouse. I had been neglecting Rhody, so looked him up at 1:15. Not at his post or roost, nor could I find him in the thicket. But when I returned to my side of the fence, he was out in open patch and came quickly on call. He hesitated between "under" and "over",