The Peculiar Roadrunner

 While out riding, I met Rusty Swingset (foreman of the Darwin Ranch near Deception Pass) and his lady friend Jacqueline Hyde heading the other way. We reined in and talked about odds and ends. Suddenly, a bird ran by. Jacqueline giggled and said she always thought roadrunners were funny.

This member of the cuckoo family really does like to run, especially since it is not a great flyer. If someone takes a notion to chase after it, they should save their energy because it will outrun them — but not a coyote. The roadrunner has odd traits that suit its appearance.

Greater roadrunner, Flickr / Dominic Sherony (CC BY-SA 2.0)

This bad boy is clever, waiting to ambush its prey by the watering hole. It is also ruthless. Hey, rattlesnake! Ha, you missed again but now you're mine! Yep, fast reflexes. 

It is not an example of evolution, but shows adaptation and (probably) the result of natural selection within the created kind. The Roadrunners also has x-shaped footprints so one cannot tell if it was coming or going. Also, fossil evidence and some basic biology dispels the foolish notion that birds evolved from reptiles.

Who isn’t familiar with the Road Runner from the Warner Bros cartoons? That silly, unflappable bird which the nefarious coyote was never quite able to catch. The real roadrunner (one word) is a bird which doesn’t have much in common with the cartoon version.

Roadrunners are in the cuckoo family Cuculidae. This family contains medium-sized slender birds such as the common or European cuckoos, koels, malkohas, couas, coucals, and anis. The birds in this large family range all over the world.

To finish reading, make tracks over to "Roadrunner."