The Roadrunner

Beep Beep! People all over the world laugh at roadrunner cartoons, but the real bird is almost as funny as the cartoon.

The roadrunner lives in the desert region of the southwestern United States and northern Mexico. It is a bird, but it can only fly about as much as a chicken can. People gave it its name because they usually see it running across a road, but of course it spends more time among the plants in the desert than it does on roads. The roadrunner is quite a large bird—about 45 centimeters long and 25 high. People laugh when it runs because it looks so funny. It holds its head straight out in front and its tail sticks straight out in back. It takes long steps and can run 30 kilometers an hour.

It eats an amazing variety of food. Although it eats plants once in a while, it is mostly a meat eater. Most of its diet is insects but it also catches birds, mice, and other small animals. It is even brave enough to catch big spiders and even snakes. In the spring a male roadrunner begins looking for a female as a mate. When he finds one, he gives her presents—a snake to eat or a tiny branch of a tree to use in building a nest. Then they build their nest, the female lays eggs, and they raise their young.

Roadrunners can also become friendly with people. One couple in Arizona feeds a pair of roadrunners which come once at a time every day and make a noise outside the window. If someone doesn't give the bird a piece of meat immediately, the bird knocks on the window with its beak.

In early spring, the bird doesn't eat the meat itself. It carries the meat to its nest to feed its young. Later on it brings the young bird to the house to beg for food itself.

When the woman calls, the bird comes running. When the man walks out the driveway, the roadrunner walks along behind, like a dog or cat.

Another couple feeds a pair of roadrunners which go right into the house. They will stand on a chair or table and watch television, and they seem really interested in what is happening on the program. In the spring, the male sometimes brings gifts to the couple—a leaf or tiny branch for building a nest, or an insect.

In winter, when nighttime temperatures in the desert can be 20 ° C colder than during the day, the weather isn't warm until the middle of the morning. The roadrunner has an unusual way of keeping warm in this cold weather. In the early morning, the roadrunner stands with its back to the sun. It holds out its wings and lifts the feathers on its upper back. There is a spot on the skin under these feathers. This spot collects heat from the sun and warms the bird's body. The bird doesn't need to use a lot of energy to keep warm the way most birds do.

Some people in Mexican villages use roadrunner meat as medicine. They believe that because roadrunners can eat poisonous animals and not die, their meat should be good for human sickness.

Maybe we shouldn't laugh at the roadrunner. Even though it looks funny when it runs, it has developed a special way to keep warm, and it can eat poisonous animals. It can even make friends with humans. It fits into its environment very well, and it isn't important that it looks funny.