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Post by Wolfman on Jun 30, 2006 21:46:21 GMT -6
Anyone seen Wiley Coyote?...lol
Comeing back from dads this morning as i topped a hill here's this odd lookin bird about a foot tall and 25 inchs long. Kinda narrow with a crest on it's head and white lines in it's feathers. Friggin Road Runner! A desert bird in the middle of MO...lol
Silly thing stood there as i slammed on the brakes and threw gravel then finaly started trotting down the road as the truck tried to eat it. About the time i got stopped it turned and jump up in a sapling about shoulder high right at the side of the road. thing sat there looking at amber and i like it did'nt have a worry in the world. Long legs, odd toes, had that crest going up and down. We sat there and watched it from a distance of about 4 feet for about 3 or 4 minutes.
Finaly it took a big jump down and trotted off into the tree's a little ways then stopped and stood there. Acted like it was watching to see if we were going to 'chase' it some more...lol Then it started off ionto the trees again with that funny lil running gate it has. Only the seocnd one i know of seen in this area(the larger of the two species). Sure wish id had a good digital camera yesterday for the velvet buck and the road runner today. Been some great pics.
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Post by Whiskers on Jun 30, 2006 21:59:13 GMT -6
I used to see them every summer down in Wright County at my Grandmothers farm.They been around there off and on for 35 years at least,that's when I first noticed them.They have a funny lil' trot indeed when they get goin.I used to watch them run up and down the lane on the gravel road.That's the only place in Missouri I had ever seen them but I knew they had to be other places as well.I've seen alot of them out west but they are an odd bird indeed around here.
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Post by Wolfman on Jun 30, 2006 22:01:36 GMT -6
Did you know.... A road runner has four toes. Two faceing foreward and two faceing rearward. Gives them kind of a clownish running gait. They can run as fast as 17 mph. They would rather run or hop as fly. Their wings are small for their weight/body and will fly when going downhill or fleeing from perceived danger. They can fly only short distances. Road Runners are fast enough to snatch a Humminbird or dragonfly from mid-air! (Thats Fast!) Their fast enough they even prey on rattlesnakes. They will use their wings like a matadors cape to draw the strike, grab the snake by the tain and beat them to death cracking them like a whip. A Road Runner can eat a snake bigger then they can swallow whole. They will swallow as much as they can then carry on normal everyday buisness with the rest of the snake hanging out of their mouth. They will swallow another inch or two as the snake slowly digests in their stomach. The male tempts females to breed with choice morsels of food. After a brief breedfing the male will THEN give her the morsel to eat. They lay from 2-12 eggs over a period of 3 days. This means the eggs don't hatch all at the same time. The stronger chicks will push the weaker chicks out of the nest. The parents may eat the weaker chicks. The eggs incubate over a period of about 18 days and the parents feed them for roughly two weeks before pushing them out on their own. Interesting birds. www.desertusa.com/road.html
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