iPhone Game Development

Colophon

The animal on the cover of iPhone Game Development is a greater roadrunner (Geococcyx californianus), a long-legged bird belonging to the cuckoo family. It is the largest North American cuckoo at approximately 22 inches long, and it weighs about 10 ounces. It has a dark head and back, an oversized beak, a long tail, a pale belly, and four toes on each foot.

It is found in the Mojave, Sonoran, and Chihuahuan deserts as well as in other parts of the southwestern U.S. It is well adapted to desert life for a number of reasons, including the fact that it reabsorbs water from its feces before excretion; it is quiet during midday, which is the hottest time in the desert; and it is very fast and can catch prey while it is in mid-air. Although it can fly, it would rather sprint and can run as fast as 20 miles per hour.

The roadrunner’s diet primarily consists of insects, small reptiles, rodents, small birds, fruit, and seeds. Its incredible speed enables it to also prey on rattlesnakes. It grabs a coiled rattlesnake by the tail and slams the snake’s head against the ground until it dies. The roadrunner then consumes the snake whole, but oftentimes can’t eat it all in one sitting, so the bird will go about its day with the remaining snake hanging out of its mouth until what it has previously eaten has digested and it is ready to consume more.

The cover image is by Lorrie LeJeune. The cover font is Adobe ITC Garamond. The text font is Linotype Birka; the heading font is Adobe Myriad ...