It has various names, the chaparral-cock, the ground-cuckoo, the prairie-cock, paisano, and worst of all, in classic nomenclature, the _Geococcyx californianus_.
It keeps on the ground most of the time, and can run with such swiftness that it cannot be easily overtaken by horse and hounds.

It has a tail longer than its body, which it bears erect.

It kills beetles, toads, birds, and mice, but has a special dislike for the rattlesnake, and often meets him and beats him in fair combat.

When it finds one sleeping or torpid it makes a circle of cactus thorns around him so he cannot escape--for "future reference," as my driver said.
This thorny circle is akin to the lariat made of horsehair, the ends sticking out roughly all around, with which the Indian used to encircle himself before going to sleep, as a protection from the rattlesnake, who could not cross it.

But here we are at Los Angeles.