Money, who needs it?
Just to live my life free and easy
Put the toothbrush in my hand
And let me be travelin', man
'Cause I'm a roadrunner, baby
Just to live my life free and easy
Put the toothbrush in my hand
And let me be travelin', man
'Cause I'm a roadrunner, baby
Roadrunners are a part of the Borrego Springs experience. They're interesting creatures and great neighbors!
Length: 20-24 inches
Height: 10-12 inches
Sexual Maturity: 2-3 yrs
Mating Season: Spring
Incubation: 18-20 days
Number of eggs in a hatch: 2-12
Birth Interval: 1 year
Lifespan: 7 to 8 years
They feed almost exclusively on other animals - insects, scorpions, lizards, snakes, rodents and other birds. Up to 10% of the roadrunner's winter diet might consist of plants due to scarcity of its normal food source.
The roadrunner is one of the few animals that preys upon rattlesnakes. Using its wings like a matador's cape, it snaps up a coiled rattlesnake by the tail and cracks it like a whip. After the snake is dead, it swallows it whole, but is often unable to swallow the entire length at one time.
This does not stop the roadrunner from its normal routine. It will continue to meander about with its prey dangling from its mouth, consuming another inch or two as the catch slowly digests.
Breeding
In Spring, the male roadrunner, offers food to a female as an inducement to mating. He usually dances around her while she begs for food, then gives her the morsel after breeding briefly.
Both parents collect small sticks used for building a shallow, saucer-like nest, but the female actually constructs the nest in a bush, cactus or small tree.
Breeding
In Spring, the male roadrunner, offers food to a female as an inducement to mating. He usually dances around her while she begs for food, then gives her the morsel after breeding briefly.
Both parents collect small sticks used for building a shallow, saucer-like nest, but the female actually constructs the nest in a bush, cactus or small tree.
The female lays 2 to 12 white eggs over a period of three days, so hatching is staggered slightly. Either parent sits on the eggs.
The first to hatch often crowd out the late-arriving runts, which are sometimes eaten by the parents. Only 3 or 4 young are usually fledged from the nest after about 18 days. These remain near the adults for up to 2 more weeks before venturing out on their own in the surrounding desert.
The first to hatch often crowd out the late-arriving runts, which are sometimes eaten by the parents. Only 3 or 4 young are usually fledged from the nest after about 18 days. These remain near the adults for up to 2 more weeks before venturing out on their own in the surrounding desert.
