### animal | vertebrate | bird | cuckoo:

Roadrunner
* Most roadrunners eat insects.
* Most roadrunners have brown feathers
  - glands
  - legs
  - stout legs
  - tails
  - live in deserts
* Some roadrunners catch hummingbirds
  - eat snakes
* Some roadrunners feed on animals
  - other animals
  - spiders
  - inhabit terrains
  - live on open farmland and around outskirts of towns
  - rely on predators
* also eat carrion and prey on bird eggs and chicks
  - occupy the semi-open habitats in the northern California
* are capable to eat even the poisonous of the prey such as scorpions and lizards
  - hunt rattlesnakes and their speed is even more than that of humans
  - members of the cuckoo family
  - omnivores , meaning they eat both meat and plants
  - potential irregular brood parasites
  - predators, and eat lizards, snakes, mice, and many other small animals
  - the state bird of New Mexico
  - weak fliers and nonmigratory
* build their nests low in trees or in shrubs.
* can also jump straight up to snag insects, bats, and even hummingbirds in flight
  - survive without drinking water, as long as they eat prey with a high water content
* eat fruit, mice, snakes, gophers, lizards, insects and other birds
* enjoy perching high in trees to sunbathe.
* feed on the insects.
* frequently ambush and prey upon small songbirds at bird feeders.
* have ability
  - salt glands above their eyes that remove excess salt from their blood
  - small and large intestines
  - to watch out for coyotes, which are their natural predators
  - yellow eyes
* help control local reptile and insect populations.
* hide in the bushes to stay cool.
* includes air sacs
  - bird's feet
  - lips
  - mouths
  - sections
  - skulls
  - vacuoles
  - pairs, defending their area all year
* nest in bushes, low trees, or cactus.
* often live in extreme climates and are uniquely adapted to conserve energy.
* spend a lot of time on the ground.
* spread wings.
* use their beak to smash the life out of their next meal.
* watch Eastern bluebirds nest in nearby eastern hardwoods
  - eastern bluebirds fly to and from their nests in nearly trees
+ Roadrunner, Diet: Birds
  * Roadrunners are omnivores, meaning they eat both meat and plants. They eat insects like grasshoppers, crickets, beetles, and caterpillars, small reptiles like lizards and snakes, rodents and other small mammals. They also eat tarantulas and other spiders, scorpions, centipedes, snails, small birds and eggs. The plants they eat are fruits and seeds like prickly pear cactus and sumac. Roadrunners search on the ground to find food. They usually run after their prey but also sometimes may leap to catch insects.
  * Roadrunners are omnivores, meaning they eat both meat and plants. They eat insects like grasshoppers, crickets, beetles, and caterpillars, small reptiles like lizards and snakes, rodents and other small mammals. They also eat tarantulas and other spiders, scorpions, centipedes, snails, small birds and eggs. The plants they eat are fruits and seeds like prickly pear cactus and sumac. Roadrunners search on the ground to find food. They usually run after their prey but also sometimes may leap to catch insects. Because of its fast speed, the Roadrunner is one of the few animals that preys upon the rattlesnake
  - Nest and eggs
  * The nest of Roadrunner is made up of mainly sticks and sometimes leaves, and snake skin. A nest usually contains 2-6 eggs which are white colored. Roadrunners have bi-parental care. Both parents take care of the nest and feed the hatchlings, but males take care of the nest at night and females at day. For the first 1 to 2 weeks after the young hatch, one parent always remains at the nest. After the hatchlings are 2 to 3 weeks old they leave and never return to the nest

### animal | vertebrate | bird | cuckoo | roadrunner:

Greater roadrunner
* have a wide range of vocalizations.
* make rudimentary nests out of sticks low in bushes or cacti.