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  • Home
  • APAL
    • A-PAL History >
      • A-PAL Humane Society Leadership Team
      • APAL Leadership Opportunities
    • APAL Programs >
      • The Rusty Fund >
        • Rusty's Pet Tails
      • Save the Kittens
      • Spay or Neuter
      • Second Chance K9 >
        • TCK9-2014 Graduates
      • Community Cats >
        • Understanding Feral Cats
        • How to Trap a Feral Cat
      • Special Needs >
        • Special Needs Stories
      • Adopt a Friend
      • Trap-Neuter-Return
      • APAL Tracking Our Progress
    • Support A-PAL >
      • Volunteer for APAL
      • Foster for A-Pal >
        • Foster Forms >
          • Foster Program Protocol
          • Kitten Health Checklist
          • Kitten Growth Chart
          • Guide to Feline URI
      • Donate to A-PAL >
        • Donate your Car
        • Giving Tuesday 2020
      • A-PAL Wish List
      • A-PAL Facility Sponsor
    • APAL Events >
      • APAL Calendar
      • APAL Past Events >
        • SantaPaws2019
        • Bark in the Park 2019
        • Whiskers and Wine 2017
        • Whiskers and Wine 2014
        • Bark in the Park 2014
        • Whiskers and Wine 2015
        • Bark In The Park 2015
        • Maui Raffle
        • Santa Paws 2015
    • Partners >
      • Shelter Partners >
        • Shelter Partners on TSPN
        • Dec14News-PitBulls
        • Jan15News-Excel
        • Feb15News-BenefitsOfPets
        • Feb15News-HarmfulAlgaeBlooms
        • Mar15News-Hoarding
        • Apr15News-TNR
        • Sep15News-QAMargeB
        • Oct15News-ButteFire
        • Oct15News-Bats
        • Nov15News-SeparationAnxiety
        • Dec15News-Tips4Treats
        • Jan16-Volunteer
        • Apr16-TNR
        • July16News-Center
        • Sep16News-ACART
        • Nov17News-ServiceDogs
  • TCWC
    • Find an animal in need? >
      • Audio Wildlife Tips
      • WhereAreWe
    • TCWC History >
      • TCWC Leadership Team
      • TCWC Leadership Opportunities
    • Wildlife Programs >
      • Education >
        • TCWC Education Events >
          • TCWC Education Animals
        • WildlifeSavesUs
        • Living Wildlife Friendly >
          • Save the Bees
          • Holiday Decorations
          • Kill That Lawn
          • Songbird Concert Tips
          • Holiday Trash
          • Alert Your Birds
          • Water to Help the Critters!
          • Bread is for Sandwiches
          • No Dogs Allowed
          • Repurpose to Feed the Birds
          • GoNative
          • Netting It Out
          • Balloons
          • E-Waste
          • Organic Food
          • AllThatGlitters
          • Fly Strips and Glue Traps
          • Toxic Household Products
          • Recycling Pumpkins
          • Tree Trimming Tips
          • Saving Venomous Species
          • Think Biodegradeable
        • Nuisance Wildlife >
          • Nuisance-SayNoToTrapping
          • Foxlights
          • Wildproof Your Home
        • Gold Country Critters
        • Keep Them Wild and Free
        • TCWC Videos
        • Points to Ponder
      • TCWC-Tracking Our Progress >
        • TCWC 2016 Impact Report
        • TCWC 2017 Impact Report
        • TCWC 2018 Impact Report
        • TCWC 2019 Impact Report
        • TCWC 2020 Impact Report
      • TCWC Patients >
        • Success Stories >
          • 1 - Opossum Call
          • 2 - Raccoon Behind the Grill!
          • 3 - Saving a Raven
          • LongTripHome
          • Anita's Bird Comes Home
          • College the Wild Way
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February 2019 -  the Greater Roadrunner

Picture
What bird can outrun a human, kill a rattlesnake and loves the heat of the Southwest? This is the character of Saturday morning cartoons – the Greater Roadrunner.

These birds are tall standing two feet from bill to tail tip. They are about the size of a Common Raven, though much more slender. They have a blue-black crest on their head, a white bill, a very long tail, and mottled plumage that provides excellent camouflage in their desert environment. When they run, their body is nearly parallel to the ground and they use their long tail as a rudder. The feet of the roadrunner have two toes facing forward and two facing backwards so their footprints disguise the direction they are heading.
Though not common in Amador and Calaveras Counties, they are spotted occasionally. The best place to look for them is along quiet roads in open grasslands and low deserts. They will dart out of shrub cover or race across the road.

They are more commonly found in the desert where adaptations have allowed them to flourish. They secrete a salt solution through a gland in front of the eye. This excretion of salt uses less water than removing salt from the body through the kidneys. Their diet of reptiles and small mammals provides needed water which is scarce in their environment. The unfeathered area under their chin is fluttered to dissipate heat.

The roadrunner diet includes poisonous prey such as venomous lizards and scorpions which they can consume without ill effects. Two roadrunners will team up to capture a rattlesnake. One will jump and flap to distract the snake while the other pins the head and bashes the snake against a rock. If the snake is too long to swallow all at once, it will hang out of the bird’s mouth as the bird walks around swallowing a bit at a time. Other items in their diet include frogs, toads, insects, centipedes, carrion and birds and eggs. In winter, fruit, seeds and plants are added to their diet.

Roadrunners nest 3-10 feet above ground on a sturdy branch or crotch of a shrub or small tree. The nest cup is about four inches deep, and the entire nest measures 17 inches in diameter and 8 inches high. It is lined with leaves, grasses, feathers and other soft material. Parents will continue work on the nest during incubation and may build up the sides as the two to six chicks grow. Chicks leave the nest after 18-21 days and are able to catch food soon after. Parents will continue to feed for another 30-40 days.

Roadrunners are known for running (up to 15 mph) but they do not fly well. They may jump to catch prey such as insects, bats and hummingbirds. Flying is limited to moving quickly to a hiding place, or gliding from a perch to the ground.

To warm up in the morning, the roadrunner will stand with its back to the sun and raise its feathers across the back to expose the black skin to the sun for warmth.

So the cartoon character is pretty close to the real thing, but the greater roadrunner is more interesting as a wild critter than a cartoon character.

Learn More!
Wikipedia
Cornell
Audubon

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