SouthwestBlend.com presents The Roadrunner.
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The Roadrunner "meep meep" character was drawn for Palm Springs Life by the artists at Warner Bros. The bird is relentlessly pursued by the tenacious but not successful Wile E.Coyote. In real life, the roadrunner does have an amusing appearance and a comical way about it as it dashes after lizards, snakes, insects, small rodents and even birds. It belongs to the cuckoo family and is found in the deserts of the southwestern USA and Mexico.
Rattlesnakes are a favorite on the menu and roadrunners are very adept at catching them, using its large, blunt beak to pound the snake to death and then swallow it, head first.
Also called the "Chaparral Cock" or "ground cuckoo" it is the official state bird of New Mexico. They grow to the size of a small chicken and have a short ruffled plume on the top of their head giving them a quizzical look. They are easily identified by a long tail that’s close to the same length as their body and is held horizontally when running full tilt.
The Tarahumara Indians of the Sierra Madre in Mexico, best known for their endurance running, like the roadrunners so much they eat them. The Tarahumara believe this will endow them with great speed and vigor.
The roadrunner is revered not only for its speed but for its distinctive feet. Two toes head forward and two toes backward, forming a bird track used by Hopi Indians in ceremonial design to confuse the evil spirits.
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