Critter Class Greater Roadrunner Roadrunners October 5, 2011 Comment HI MVK! How about Roadrunners tonight. MVK: hmm roadrunners - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BoprwQYS_ic Comment: They sometimes nest in Cactus! Comment: Hi MVK! Glad you are here! Roadrunner sounds like fun! Bet EGS would like that. Comment: Road runner birds never knew they didn’t fly much Comment: Roadrunners, now that's actually some wildlife I've seen in Phoenix. Comment: The roadrunner is the state bird of NM. They run very very fast especially across a highway. Comment: Willy coyote! One of my favorite cartoons! Telling my age. MVK: EGS wherever you are - the roadrunner is a zygodactyl MVK: They are a member of the cuckoo family! Comment: Roadrunners, eh? Bet someone finds a youtube video of them soaring in the skies just like those penguins... :) MVK: The roadrunner is about 56 centimeters (22 in) long and weighs about 300 grams (10.5 oz), and is the largest North American cuckoo. The adult has a bushy crest and long thick dark bill. It has a long dark tail, a dark head and back, and is blue on the front of the neck and Critter Class – Roadrunners 1 10/5/2011 on the belly. Roadrunners have four toes on each zygodactyl foot; two face forward, and two face backward. Per Wikipedia MVK: The breeding habitat is desert and shrubby country in the southwestern United States and northern Mexico. It can be seen in the US states of California, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Nevada, Utah, Colorado, Oklahoma, and rarely in Kansas, Louisiana, Arkansas and Missouri,[3] as well as the Mexican states of Baja California, Baja California Sur, Sonora, Sinaloa, Chihuahua, Durango, Jalisco, Coahuila, Zacatecas, Aguas Calientes, Guanajuato, Michoacán, Querétaro, México, Puebla, Nuevo León, Tamaulipas, and San Luis Potosí.[4] Per Qikipedia Comment: Are the Roadrunners found on any other continent? MVK: Greater Roadrunner on the run The Greater Roadrunner nests on a platform of sticks low in a cactus or a bush and lays 3–6 eggs, which hatch in 20 days. The chicks fledge in another 18 days. Pairs may occasionally rear a second brood. Greater Roadrunners measure 61 cm (2 feet) in length, about half of which is tail. They have long, wobbly legs and a slender, pointed bill. The upper body is mostly brown with black streaks and sometimes pink spots. The neck and upper breast are white or pale brown with dark brown streaks, and the belly is white. A crest of brown feathers sticks up on the head, and a bare patch of orange and blue skin lies behind each eye;[5] the blue is replaced by white in adult males (except the blue adjacent to the eye), and the orange (to the rear) is often hidden by feathers.[3] This bird walks around rapidly, running down prey. It mainly feeds on insects, fruit and seeds with the addition of small reptiles, including snakes, small mammals, spiders, scorpions, centipedes, millipedes, small birds, their eggs, and carrion, including roadkills. It kills larger prey with a blow from the beak—hitting the base of the neck of small mammals— or by holding it in the beak and beating it against a rock. Two roadrunners sometimes attack a relatively big snake cooperatively. Per Wikipedia Comment: I see those roadrunners all the time when i travelled to Arizona. I always did take pictures of them. They are so cute. Critter Class – Roadrunners 2 10/5/2011 Comment: I had no idea Roadrunners ate snakes and other small birds. It was interesting seeing the baby bird fed the mouse whole....it just slid right down its sweet little throat. Comment: Do roadrunners nest close to the ground? MVK: The live mainly on the ground but during nesting, will build a nest of sticks in a cactus or bush. Comment: aaaaaaah!!! I NEED a Roadrunner in here with me tonight. There is a mosquito enjoying various parts of me as an appetizer, salad/soup, dinner, and soon to be dessert. LOL Comment: MVK, roadrunners are quite unique looking in person! I saw one for the first time last year when I visited my sister in Parump, Nevada! MVK: They are about 2 feet long - and 1 foot of that is tail. Comment: Does the male road runner help rear the chicks? Thanks MVK: Breeding: Roadrunners breed in the spring, when the winter rains have increased the local food supply. A male roadrunner offers food to his female of choice, and dances for her while she begs. Then they mate and he feeds her. The female constructs a nest in a bush or small tree. The nest is a shallow cup lined with sticks, feathers, and other soft objects. The female lays up to 12 eggs over 3 days, so the nestlings hatch at different times. Both parents take turns incubating, which lasts about 20 days. The first chicks to hatch usually crowd out their smaller siblings who hatch a day or two later. Only three or four baby roadrunners actually leave the nest, and the parents care for them for about two weeks afterwards. Per hellium.com MVK: They can run up to 18 MPH - couldn't you catch him EGS? Critter Class – Roadrunners 3 10/5/2011 Comment: How do they deal with predators when they are nesting in a cactus or bush? Won't coyotes et al come after their eggs or babies? MVK: Sorry - blog went down for a minute - predators are hawks, falcons, cats and humans. I imagine nests in cacti is good protection. As with other birds - they will defend as much as possible Comment: I met a roadrunner outside the petrified forest in AZ years ago. It started racing the car, but when it started losing out, it broke off the chase. MVK: That will take a minute - but here is another one http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KJJW7EF5aVk MVK: Here is one that shows them really good http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PPdklH6t7dI Critter Class – Roadrunners 4 10/5/2011 .