Apache legend tells us all the birds got together to decide which bird should be their leader. They considered oriole, mockingbird and bluejay before realizing the roadrunner was their natural leader because of courage, speed and its ability to shift directions to grasp new opportunities.
Roadrunners are ground-dwelling members of the cuckoo family. They are well suited to life in the deserts of southwest United States though their range continues to expand even into the Ozarks. One place in Carroll County is in the fields just north of where Keels Creek flows under Rockhouse Road.
Legends abound about roadrunners from the First People who lived in the deserts of the American southwest and down into Mexico. A roadrunner footprint is an X from two toes going forward, two going backward. To Native American tribes, the X meant evil spirits would not know which way to go to find the roadrunner, and the roadrunner X is represented in the rock art of the Anasazi. Roadrunner feathers were considered special spiritual protection, and in some areas in Mexico it is deemed good luck to encounter a roadrunner. One of its names in Mexico is “el paisano” which means countryman, a reflection of how embedded roadrunners are into the history and culture there.
Beep beep
The roadrunner species in the United States is the greater roadrunner. The lesser roadrunner lives in Mexico and Central America along with other roadrunner species, some very colorful. It is also called the chaparral cock. The name roadrunner came from its habit of following wagons and carriages along the first roads through its desert terrain.
Its legendary status came in part from its ability to run almost 20 mph and dart in and around scrubby desert flora. It stands upright, reaches 20-24 inches in length and can fly short distances but usually does not except in emergencies. It has strong legs, an oversized beak, a long tail and its feathers are mottled brown, black and white on its back and white underneath. It has a notable crest, which signaled impressive mental ability according to the legends. It also has a red spot behind each eye. It sometimes perches on a fencepost or tree branch for a better view of the neighborhood.
Early cowboys told stories about how a roadrunner would pick a fight with rattlesnake. Sometimes one bird will dance around to distract a snake setting up the other bird for the strike. A roadrunner is quick enough to dart forward and peck the snake repeatedly on the head and then grab the snake by its strong beak and whip it against the ground or rocks. Roadrunners will then swallow the snake whole except it cannot consume all of it at once, so part of the snake remains dangling from the roadrunner’s mouth as the other end is slowly digested one gulp at a time. It will also bash mice and other prey against rocks to make them easier to swallow.
Roadrunners are prolific hunters. Since the desert environment does not provide much water, roadrunners get much of the moisture they need to survive from the prey they consume, and they consume anything they can catch. Their diet includes lizards, insects, rodents, scorpions, tarantulas, snakes and small birds. They have been witnessed jumping straight up to snatch insects and hummingbirds out of the air.
One source noted a roadrunner is careful to swallow a horned frog only head first to neutralize the prickly horns.
Family life
Sources claim roadrunners mate for life. Nevertheless, the pair perform the same mating routine every spring. First of all, the male chases the female. Then they stop, then chase and stop a few more times. The clincher is when the male tempts his beloved by dangling a lizard or mouse in his beak. If he knows she likes his offer, he will shake his tailfeathers, bow and coo and jump into the air, and then it’s love in the afternoon.
Both parents gather sticks for a nest which might be 17 inches in diameter and six or eight inches deep. The female constructs the nest three to ten feet above ground in a bush, cactus or tree. The nests will be lined with grass, leaves, snakeskin and flecks of cow manure, and sometimes they are sturdy enough that a pair will reuse it a second year. A pair will patrol its half-mile wide territory for prey and defend it against intruders.
The female will lay up to a dozen white eggs in the nest. Both parents, though mostly the male, incubate the eggs for almost three weeks. Typically three or four of the young ones are fledged out of the nest in about 18 days. They stay near the parents for another week or two before scattering. Roadrunners live about seven or eight years.
It’s a desert out there
Roadrunners cope with extremely hot days by vibrating an unfeathered area below the chin to dissipate heat. They begin winter mornings by sunbathing, or turning their backs toward the sun and spreading their feathers to expose skin to sunshine. This might occur several times a day during colder weather. On cold nights they power down bodily functions to conserve heat. Icy, freezing temperatures can be fatal.
Although roadrunners are agile and can run some speed limits, coyotes can run 43 m.p.h. even without Acme power boosters. Roadrunners are also prey for hawks, raccoons, skunks, large snakes and even house cats. Habitat loss is a concern as evidenced by the diminishing roadrunner presence in southern California, but they are expanding their range as far east as Louisiana, Arkansas and southern Missouri.
According to Cornell University’s eBird map, which charts densities of sightings, most Arkansas roadrunners live in the northwest to western part of the state with a moderate sampling in the central and north central areas as well. There is a smattering of sightings around Calhoun and Union Counties in the south.
Roadrunners are curious and will approach the vicinity of humans. There are comments online from Arkansans recounting having seen one, sometimes years ago, and still remember the circumstance, so roadrunners must make an impression. One person said a pair claimed her property as theirs and patrolled for snakes and rodents. A man near the Oklahoma state line noted his area is loaded with them, and a teacher said her class was delighted to see a pair walk by every day. It seems Arkansawyers are creating new roadrunner legends.