Roadrunner facts, photos, and information: How fast are they, what?
The roadrunner, cuckoos, and anis are part of one of the strangest families in the bird world.The appearance, food habits, and other characteristics of these three species are so different that it is hard to believe they are part of the same family.Ornithologists consider more than just appearance when they group birds.These birds have many characteristics in common, despite their many differences.The slender birds have rounded wings, curved bills, and long floppy tails.Their tail feathers are graduated in size, with the shortest ones on the outer edges, and the males and females within each species look alike.There is a family trait that can be seen in the tracks.The birds have two toes on their feet, which makes it hard to tell if they are coming or going.They can climb and grasp.
The roadrunner has inspired many beliefs and superstitions.J. Frank Dobie, a noted folklorist and perhaps the roadrunner's greatest fan, wrote that the birds' track was drawn on the ground near the tent of the dead to trick evil spirits.Plains Indians used to hang the skin of a roadrunner over the door of their lodge.The Tarahumare Indians of the Sierra Madre said their running skill was due to eating roadrunner meat.
Both good and bad luck has been attributed to the roadrunner.A bird living near a home brought good fortune to the residents.One crossing the road from the left to the right brought good luck, but one crossing in the opposite direction brought bad luck.Travelers believed that a lost man would be led to a trail if he followed a roadrunner.Since the roadrunner is known to hunt for insects in the vegetation along roads, deer trails, and animal pathways, this belief has a basis in fact.
The roadrunner will eat anything from insects to small mammals, as well as fruits, seeds, and prickly pear.The bird is fond of lizards and snakes and its method of killing them is unusual.The road-runner is trying to kill a snake.The bird uses speed, agility, and quick leaps into the air to stay clear of the snake's fangs and then stabs it with its pointed beak.Repeated blows stun the snake so it can be slammed against the ground.The bones in the snake's head and body are broken or crushed when the bird pounds it against the ground or a rock.Large prey are killed and softened in this way.
It is fascinating to watch a nest-bound young being fed a snake by one of its parents.When the snake is too long, the parent forces as much of the reptile down the young one's gullet as possible, leaving the excess hanging outside its beak.As the young bird's juices work on the swallowed portion, the rest slowly works its way inside.The entire snake is eaten in a matter of hours.Adults have been seen running around with snakes in their mouths.
The roadrunner's short, rounded wings allow it to glide to the ground from tree perches or leap into the air when startled.
The roadrunner is a tourist attraction in the Southwest.The roadrunner is usually found on the ground.When startled, it uses its wings to leap into the air.Its fitful flight consists of a spectacular leap into the air followed by a crash into dense brush for cover.The bird can be seen running across the ground at speeds up to fifteen miles per hour.
Perhaps because of the well-known cartoon character constantly being chased by the coyote, most people picture this bird only in a desert-type habitat.The roadrunner is at home among the swamplands, tall pines, and magnolias of East Texas, as well as the limestone outcroppings and brush of the Hill Country.All the bird needs is some bare ground where it can walk around and catch food.
Its white eggs are hidden in a nest of sticks.Young are raised on lizards, snakes, scorpions, and insects.As one parent guards the nest and the other hunts, for the first twelve days.The guardian adult leaves when the hunting adult approaches the nest with food.When the size and hunger of the young birds force both adults to hunt at the same time, these duties are switched with each return trip.Adults don't bring anything smaller than a young lizard as food after the young are about two weeks old.The young are able to leave the nest three weeks after hatching, but they stay close by so the adults can feed and train them.
We are going to the cuckoos to see the next members of this strange family.The yellow-billed cuckoo is the most common of the three species and can be found all over the United States.The large white spots on the underside of its dark tail feathers can be seen by the yellow lower mandible.Its body is dull brown and white.The yellowbill glides quietly through its leafy habitat.Birders don't see it on an exposed limb because it prefers to skulk in the leaves.The hairy species that most birds pass up is its favorite food.The inside of the bird's stomach is covered with hairy spines.Cuckoos eat many of the caterpillar that damage trees, so they should be welcome in yards and orchards.They also eat wild fruits such as elderberry and mulberry.
The less colorful black-billed cuckoo has a black bill.It lacks the yellowbill's reddish color in its wings, but has a narrow, red eye-ring.The tail spots are smaller than those of the yellowbill.It is more difficult to spot the blackbill than it is to see the yellowbill.It likes the dense woodlands along streams, ponds, and lakes, dense borders of meadow and forests, or deep thickets and groves of coastal prairies.As the blackbill migrates through the eastern and central parts of the state, it remains hidden from the public.The blackbill is similar to the yellowbill in that it is a caterpillar hunter and also eats a variety of insects.
cuckoos build nest of twigs in bushes and trees to raise their youngEggs may be laid in each other's nest in areas where both are found.The blackbill sometimes lays its eggs in the nest of other birds.Social parasitism is a common practice among Old World cuckoos.When the young cuckoo hatch, it usually pushes nest mates or unhatched eggs belonging to the foster parents out of the nest to make more room for itself.Foster parents may have a hard time getting enough food for their offspring, which may be larger than they are.
The mangrove cuckoo is not found in Texas.There was only one Texas appearance on a Christmas bird count in 1964.The bird is found in the mangroves of the Florida Keys and along the southwest coast of Florida.It is found in the West Indies, the mangrove belts of the lowlands in Middle America, and the north coast of South America.It has a black mask.
Cuckoos are called "rain crows" because they are often heard on cloudy days.