Real-life roadrunners like this one are just as enjoyable as the cartoon character, Road Runner, who carried on a battle with Wile E. Coyote in the Looney Tunes series.. Though they don’t run off of cliffs, they do run very fast especially when chasing a fat lizard for dinner.
As shown in a close-up above, roadrunners have a mottled plumage that has very intricate patterning. Their big eyes and eyelashes lend a coy look to this sly bird that, according to an article in AudubonMagazine.org, ‘can feign a wing injury or a broken leg, dragging itself across the ground, in order to draw predators away from its nest.
Roadrunners have raggedy crest feathers they can raise or lower, adding the dimension of expressiveness that adds to their appeal. They are best known as birds of the American southwest and they are indeed found from California through Texas. However, they are also found as far east as parts of Louisiana, Arkansas and even a sw piece of Missouri. The northern part of their range includes all of Oklahoma, very southern Kansas, plus a bit of Colorado (including where I live), Utah and Nevada.
This species of bird rarely flies though I have seen them do a sort of hop & fly to jump up into a tree. They have several interesting and unique vocalizations, including cooing and barking sounds, that you can listen to on this All About Birds web page.
Do you have roadrunners in your area?
Have you ever traveled to an area where you have seen them?
{ 1 comment… read it below or add one }
We sometimes see them crossing the road to the woods across the way along with coyotes, foxes, deer, and bobcat.