Roadrunner

I'm fond of roadrunners. I named one Roadie last year but then more than one started coming around so I wasn't sure if I was talking to Roadie or an impostor after that. Pretty creative name, huh?

This photo shows the bare patch of skin by the eye. You don't always see that. They all have it I think, but some have it brighter than others and only if they move the side feathers will you see the colors. It's bright orange and blue! I thought perhaps it was a mating thing but everything I've read says the male and female look alike, only difference being the males are a little larger. His beak is open because today was 103 degrees. Fahrenheit.

I got this one to cuckoo at me today. Ran in the trailer to get my little camera that will take a short movie and darn it, I couldn't get him to cuckoo again. I will try again another time though. They come by to drink from the water dishes we put out. We have to put out water dishes otherwise the critters, a squirrel or rabbit, we're not sure, will bite into our hose and cause a leak! Lil' troublemakers they are! We've had to buy two new hoses on account of them. We thought we just had bad hoses at first. Hehe!

Before we got this site there was a real nice couple here. The husband though, he was afraid of birds. Afraid, I say! I asked him one day, how come he was afraid of birds and he told me why.

When he was a little boy a cousin of his held him upside down and let the chickens peck at him. I was so sad for him. When the quail came by or the roadrunners came by, his wife said he would not come out of his trailer. He was a sweet man too.

Now if you are observant you've noticed this roadrunner has no tail. Indeed, I am sure something happened. I think he's lucky to be alive. We have several roadrunners come by and I've probably had him come by before but this is the first time we've seen such a short tail. I don't think all of his feathers could have fallen out by themselves.

This second picture is when he decided to leave. I thought it was cute plus you can still see the colorful patches near his eyes. I say he, but it could be a she. He hung around quite awhile.