Maroia Davis age 11 of Brush Colors
How fast own a road runner run?
The amazing road runner has the honor of being the state bird of New Mexico. You may laugh to see his headlong dash along the highway. But the people of our southwest are mighty proud of him. And well they may be for he is a smart and scrappy fellow„ Experts call him a ground cuckoo. Some people call him the snake eater. But Andy's favorite name for him is cock of the desert for he certainly copes happily with the dry and sandy cactus land.
The cock‑of‑the‑desert may show himself as you drive along the highway. He will: be in a. great hurry. His brown and white body is about a foot long plus a foot or so of bronzy‑green. tail. He is out on the road for fun and exercises And my how he can exercises He runs on long.. strong legs. His scrawny neck is held forward and the feathers on his crested head are' held straight up in the air. His wings are outspread and his head bobs up and down with his strides„ Frown time to time he takes a gliding long‑jump to help speed him on his way.
Naturally.. such a small bird cannot compete for speed with the giant ostrich. But he makes good times none the less. His speed has been clocked by oars at around 15 miles an hour. The road runner gives all he has to his dash along the highway. He cannot keep his speed up for very long. When he tires he comes to a sudden stop. He turns sharply off the road and flips his tail over his back as a brake. The fun is over.
Chances are the cock‑of‑the‑desert has gone back to bossing the land of sand and cactus. There he is smart enough to have things just about his own way. Cactus spines do not bother him. Lizards are food for him. He is not even afraid of the dreaded rattlesnake. Quite the opposite for this smallish bird is the feared enemy of the rattlesnake.
Road running is not his only sport. He loves to take on a rattler and fight to the kill. It is always the snake that gets killed. If the rattler is not too big the road runner will swallow him whole. head f1mat.
A rattler is very quick in his striking. Most animals fall prey because of the deadly speed of the snake's thrust.
Not so the road runner He is quick and smart enough to dodge that thrust. He even prods the snake with his sharp beak and dodges out of reach. Usually he starts the fight when the rattler is uncoiled and so unable to strike. But he may prod in spots which force the snake to uncoil.
The snake tires long before the agile bird. He wants to call it quite and slither home. Then the bird moves in for the kill. He grabs the snake by the heads shakes it and smashes the skull on the ground. Often he uses a sharp stab to the brain to end it all. One more rattler bites the dust.
No wonder the people of the southwest are glad to have the road runner around. Yet for all his scrappy ways Mr. Road Runner makes a tame and friendly pet.