A couple of days ago I looked out the kitchen window and wondered why there were no birds at the feeder - a rare sight. Suddenly, a roadrunner came by, paused, and then ran through the fence and down the cliff.
I did not have my camera and even if I had, I probably would not have been quick enough to get a photo. It's the first roadrunner I've ever seen... well, besides Wile E. Coyote's cartoon nemesis... it's the first real, live, in-person roadrunner I've seen. What struck me most was the size: it was HUGE, about the size of a skinny chicken.
Here's some information about this bird-
Greater Roadrunner, Geococcyx californianus, (also called a chaparral) is a member of the cuckoo family. It is the state bird of New Mexico and the quintessential bird of the desert southwest. They can fly but usually don't. They can run up to 18 mph. A group is known as a "marathon" or "race" of roadrunners.
An omnivore, the bird forages mostly on the ground eating insects, spiders, snakes, scorpions, lizards, small birds, eggs, rodents, carrion, and some fruit. It will even beat large prey against a rock or the ground to kill it! If drinking water is not readily available, it can get along without it as long as its food has high water content. Like many ocean-going birds, the roadrunner is able to excrete excess salt from its blood through glands near its eyes.
A roadrunner's nest is a shallow platform of thorny sticks, lined with things like leaves, grass, feathers, snakeskin and is usually found in a thorny bush, small tree, or cactus.
Unlike the cartoon, real roadrunners do not say "beep-beep" - their call is a downward slurring "coo-coo-coo-coo-cooooo".
Unfortunately, I didn't get a photo of the roadrunner but you can see one here: Texas Roadrunner
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