The Roadrunner
This engaging book is the first one available on the roadrunner, a species of cuckoo that sometimes eats rattlesnakes by swallowing them whole. These unique birds were famous even before the popular cartoon character (beep! beep!). They are fairly common in arid areas of the U.S. Southwest and in Mexico, where they are called paisano. Meinzer is an accomplished outdoor photograher with 170 magazine and book covers to his credit. His present roadrunner studies were done in Texas and feature 115 fine color photos that offer excellent depictions of roadrunners capturing snakes, lizards, mice, praying mantises, etc., but also show many courtship and nesting scenes. Habitats and scenery are also detailed. Although brief, the text is both informal and informative, with sections on biology, habits, feeding, and young. This book is worth the price for the exceptional photos alone. Highly recommended.- Henry T. Armistead, Thomas Jefferson Univ. Lib., PhiladelphiaCopyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.