Week 18 - Stay out of my yard - The Roadrunnner


 The Greater Roadrunner, ran out of the green belt up to the street, looked at me, and then turned around and ran back into the thicket.  I was debating on whether I was seeing a Vulture or a Crow in the sky when he made his presence known.  " Okay, you win," I said as he cocked his head around and dashed back into the bushes.  I was stoked to learn facts about this interesting,  less common, Texas resident. 

Turns out roadrunners are uber territorial which now makes sense because they always seem to be on a mission and a tiny bit pissed.  They are curious though which makes them interesting in that you have to wonder how they regard all the flying birds. They can fly but mostly choose to run quickly, sometimes up to 27 mph!   Their tracks are X's because they have two toes facing forward and two facings backward. Are the toes pointing backward, always getting the shaft? Do they know they are pointed backward? 

The Roadrunner enjoys sunbathing in the morning.  This warms their bodies up after a night in torpor, much like a hummingbird.  This is very enlightening to me because I have two daughters and a husband who bask in the sun during morning hours with the same delight and need as I have for drinking coffee.  They need the sun on their bodies like I need caffeine on the brain. All of them are slender thus needing to restore warmth to their limbs when they awake.  I am not sure I can equate the territorial characteristics but just the same it makes me giggle to view my husband and two daughters as roadrunners, being that they need the sun's warmth and they walk around busily grazing all day and they very curious. 

This little study has taught me that not every bird adheres to the same social code and these guys certainly seem to be in their own world.  This is helpful for a gal like me, who desperately wants to feel like a sparrow but has a family full of roadrunners.  

That's all for me and the Birds_ 

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