So what do roadrunners eat? Well most of us can remember the old Wile E. Coyote and Road Runner cartoons from long ago, where the persistent canine would chase the elusive road runner all over the west, only to fail every time. Today, you can imagine where the creators of this classic American cartoon got their idea, because you can see these funny little birds running all over Stagecoach Trails Guest Ranch. While they may not make a meep-meep sound, they do run on two legs with their tails and necks straight out. Even as I write this now, one just ran by the window, in search of a mate or prey.
Cartoon versus real life, do coyotes eat roadrunners?
In the cartoons they appear to be large, but in reality they are only about a foot high at most. They are also portrayed as friendly and innocent, however, they are actually much more impressive than that. So what do roadrunners eat? Well they are mainly carnivorous birds, and are natural born hunters. They prey on grasshoppers, scorpions, lizards, and even snakes and other small birds! No doubt if they were much larger you would not want to come across one in the animal kingdom, and in fact, I’m not sure a coyote would even want to chase one in real life.
Here at the dude ranch we often joke and describe them as little dinosaurs, but that’s a pretty accurate description. They jump and run around like a Velociraptor, and they make a clicking sound as they call out to mates. They sound just like the Velociraptors on Jurassic Park but at a lower pitch. Very often we see them catching small and large birds that drink out of our courtyard fountain. They sit very patiently and just wait for the unsuspecting bird to come and drink, then at the speed of a flash they pounce and either stab the larger birds with their pointy beaks or just catch the smaller ones with their claws and run away to eat them. They have distinct colors on their heads of a blue and red variety. Their eyes are piercing when you see them looking around, they are great fun to observe.
Road Runners and Humans
Roadrunners and fairly accepting of humans and tend to coexist here on the ranch very well, making nests in the trees and roaming around. They also live up to their names, as watching one cross a road can be a very satisfying experience, and really does happen. As with most of the nature here in the West, roadrunners are just another staple of the surprising amount of life in the desert. They seem to coexist very well with our guests and rarely run away too far when we walk around. But like every animal in the kingdom they also have predators that prey on them. A few weeks ago we found a pile of road runner feathers down by the corral and we suspect either a hawk or coyote got one. That is the circle of life, eat or be eaten.
So if you ever wondered what roadrunners eat then just come to the dude ranch and sit in the dinning room and watch the show as it can be very entertaining.
Trackbacks/Pingbacks