1 00:00:01,920 --> 00:00:06,520 Speaker 1: Welcome to brain Stuff production of I Heart Radio. Hey 2 00:00:06,559 --> 00:00:10,920 Speaker 1: brain Stuff, Lauren vog Obam Here, I'm afraid that we've 3 00:00:10,960 --> 00:00:14,360 Speaker 1: got it all wrong about road runners. Close your eyes, 4 00:00:14,400 --> 00:00:18,480 Speaker 1: assuming you're not driving or something similar, and picture a roadrunner. 5 00:00:18,840 --> 00:00:21,840 Speaker 1: What do you see? A bird call and leggie like 6 00:00:21,920 --> 00:00:24,760 Speaker 1: an ostrich with a billowy blue tail. When it runs, 7 00:00:24,760 --> 00:00:26,599 Speaker 1: all you see is a pinwheel of legs and a 8 00:00:26,640 --> 00:00:30,400 Speaker 1: streak of dust. And it's constantly being pursued by one 9 00:00:30,480 --> 00:00:36,600 Speaker 1: wiley coyote named yes, wiley coyote, but always without exception escapes, 10 00:00:38,440 --> 00:00:42,479 Speaker 1: alas as entertaining as they are, Warner Brothers cartoons have 11 00:00:42,760 --> 00:00:47,080 Speaker 1: rarely been going for scientific accuracy. Real road runners don't 12 00:00:47,120 --> 00:00:51,760 Speaker 1: even say beep beep. Road Runners are unique among birds, 13 00:00:51,760 --> 00:00:54,520 Speaker 1: though mostly due to their ability to rent it speeds 14 00:00:54,600 --> 00:00:57,440 Speaker 1: up to twenty seven miles or forty three kilometers per hour. 15 00:00:58,360 --> 00:01:01,040 Speaker 1: Most closely related to cuckoo and about the size of 16 00:01:01,040 --> 00:01:04,920 Speaker 1: a crow. The two species of roadrunner, the greater roadrunner 17 00:01:05,040 --> 00:01:08,760 Speaker 1: or geocockics California aus and the lesser road runner or 18 00:01:08,800 --> 00:01:13,320 Speaker 1: geocockyx Bellocks, are scrawny desert birds with long tails and 19 00:01:13,360 --> 00:01:16,640 Speaker 1: curved beaks, and they love to hang out on the ground, 20 00:01:16,880 --> 00:01:19,120 Speaker 1: despite the fact that it can get hot in the 21 00:01:19,160 --> 00:01:22,560 Speaker 1: deserts and shrublands of the southwestern United States, Central America, 22 00:01:22,680 --> 00:01:26,959 Speaker 1: and South America. Oh We spoke via email with Dean Ransom, 23 00:01:27,120 --> 00:01:30,440 Speaker 1: a wildlife biologist and roadrunner researcher in the Department of 24 00:01:30,440 --> 00:01:35,000 Speaker 1: Biology at Baylor University. He said road runners are quite 25 00:01:35,040 --> 00:01:37,679 Speaker 1: capable of powered flight, but they spend most of their 26 00:01:37,680 --> 00:01:40,720 Speaker 1: time on the ground. When they do occupy the trees, 27 00:01:40,840 --> 00:01:43,880 Speaker 1: they usually hop up to the lowest branch and hop 28 00:01:43,959 --> 00:01:46,440 Speaker 1: up to where they need to go. But it's the 29 00:01:46,520 --> 00:01:50,480 Speaker 1: terrestrial running habit that makes them somewhat unique. They're a 30 00:01:50,520 --> 00:01:54,360 Speaker 1: mid sized predatory bird that feeds on reptiles, insects, and 31 00:01:54,480 --> 00:01:57,880 Speaker 1: small mammals like field mice and rats. They chase down 32 00:01:57,880 --> 00:02:00,560 Speaker 1: their prey and then either kill it with strikes to 33 00:02:00,600 --> 00:02:02,880 Speaker 1: the head or grasp it by the tail and slam 34 00:02:02,920 --> 00:02:06,320 Speaker 1: it down on a rock for the killing blow. Road 35 00:02:06,360 --> 00:02:10,080 Speaker 1: Runners mate for life, but are normally pretty solitary otherwise. 36 00:02:10,600 --> 00:02:13,280 Speaker 1: They nest in trees and are prolific re nest ors 37 00:02:13,480 --> 00:02:16,359 Speaker 1: and meaning that if they lose their first nest predators, 38 00:02:16,400 --> 00:02:18,880 Speaker 1: they'll go right out and look for different real estate. 39 00:02:20,280 --> 00:02:24,240 Speaker 1: Ransom said. The road runners lay and hatch eggs asynchronous lee, 40 00:02:24,720 --> 00:02:27,760 Speaker 1: which means there will be noticeable size and age differences 41 00:02:27,840 --> 00:02:31,760 Speaker 1: among a brood of young roadrunners. In years of food scarcity, 42 00:02:31,880 --> 00:02:34,320 Speaker 1: the oldest young often eats one or more of its 43 00:02:34,360 --> 00:02:38,000 Speaker 1: younger siblings, and sometimes for the same reason, the adults 44 00:02:38,000 --> 00:02:43,520 Speaker 1: will eat their young to survive and breed another day. Brutal, yes, 45 00:02:43,840 --> 00:02:46,839 Speaker 1: but it's tough out in the desert, and roadrunners don't 46 00:02:46,840 --> 00:02:49,639 Speaker 1: get a break from it since they don't migrate, living 47 00:02:49,760 --> 00:02:53,120 Speaker 1: year round in the same stomping grounds. To deal with 48 00:02:53,160 --> 00:02:56,720 Speaker 1: the extreme heat of the days and the plummeting nighttime temperatures, 49 00:02:57,080 --> 00:03:00,960 Speaker 1: road runners employ a physiological process called copper in which 50 00:03:01,040 --> 00:03:03,920 Speaker 1: they lower their body temperature on cold nights to conserve 51 00:03:04,040 --> 00:03:07,959 Speaker 1: body heat and energy expenditure. In the mornings, when the 52 00:03:08,000 --> 00:03:10,880 Speaker 1: sun comes up, they bask in the sun to warm up, 53 00:03:11,160 --> 00:03:14,160 Speaker 1: putting on quite a display in the process. They turn 54 00:03:14,240 --> 00:03:16,520 Speaker 1: their backs to the morning sun and erect all of 55 00:03:16,560 --> 00:03:21,320 Speaker 1: their feathers, exposing black, pigmented skin underneath that absorbs heat. 56 00:03:23,080 --> 00:03:25,720 Speaker 1: Road Runners have feet in which two toes are pointed 57 00:03:25,760 --> 00:03:29,800 Speaker 1: forward and two toes are pointed backward. Scientists call this 58 00:03:29,880 --> 00:03:34,280 Speaker 1: a zygodactyl foot arrangement. It's not terribly uncommon in perching 59 00:03:34,320 --> 00:03:37,880 Speaker 1: birds like Swift's owls, woodpeckers, and the like, but it's 60 00:03:37,920 --> 00:03:40,320 Speaker 1: pretty unique in a bird that spends most of its 61 00:03:40,360 --> 00:03:43,920 Speaker 1: time hoofing around in the desert. It makes their tracks 62 00:03:44,040 --> 00:03:47,320 Speaker 1: look X shaped, which makes it near impossible to tell 63 00:03:47,360 --> 00:03:50,840 Speaker 1: which direction the bird was running in. These tracks have 64 00:03:50,880 --> 00:03:54,560 Speaker 1: captivated humans for millennia. The symbol of road runner tracks 65 00:03:54,640 --> 00:03:57,920 Speaker 1: has been used to ward off evil by some Pueblo tribes, 66 00:03:58,240 --> 00:04:02,440 Speaker 1: and stylized roadrunner prints have been identified an ancient Anasazi 67 00:04:02,600 --> 00:04:06,440 Speaker 1: and maga Yan rock art. In fact, road runners have 68 00:04:06,520 --> 00:04:10,040 Speaker 1: figured prominently in human stories up through the present day. 69 00:04:10,280 --> 00:04:13,120 Speaker 1: Pueblo peoples of New Mexico have a tradition of drawing 70 00:04:13,200 --> 00:04:15,720 Speaker 1: road runner tracks on the ground near the resting place 71 00:04:15,760 --> 00:04:18,320 Speaker 1: of a newly dead loved one in order to lure 72 00:04:18,400 --> 00:04:20,800 Speaker 1: evil spirits away from the soul as it makes its 73 00:04:20,800 --> 00:04:24,040 Speaker 1: way to the afterlife. Eating road runner meat has been 74 00:04:24,040 --> 00:04:27,800 Speaker 1: thought to bring speed by some Native American traditions, and 75 00:04:28,080 --> 00:04:31,039 Speaker 1: crossing paths with a roadrunner has been thought to bring 76 00:04:31,120 --> 00:04:34,479 Speaker 1: good or bad luck, depending on the direction of approach. 77 00:04:35,600 --> 00:04:39,280 Speaker 1: Early European colonists said that roadrunner tracks could lead a 78 00:04:39,279 --> 00:04:43,480 Speaker 1: lost traveler to a path, and of course, the road 79 00:04:43,560 --> 00:04:46,680 Speaker 1: runner of Looney Tunes fame is a somewhat magical and 80 00:04:46,800 --> 00:04:50,760 Speaker 1: certainly lucky figure. After all, how many times can of 81 00:04:50,920 --> 00:04:54,240 Speaker 1: hungry coyote try to murder you with Acme brand Rube 82 00:04:54,240 --> 00:04:59,839 Speaker 1: Goldberg machines and failed miserably many many times? It turns out. 83 00:05:05,200 --> 00:05:07,800 Speaker 1: Today's episode was written by Jesselyn Shields and produced by 84 00:05:07,839 --> 00:05:10,080 Speaker 1: Tyler Clang. For more on this and lots of other 85 00:05:10,120 --> 00:05:13,359 Speaker 1: speedy topics, visit how stuff works dot com. Brain Stuff 86 00:05:13,400 --> 00:05:15,760 Speaker 1: is production of iHeart Radio. For more podcasts in my 87 00:05:15,760 --> 00:05:18,800 Speaker 1: heart Radio, visit the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or 88 00:05:18,800 --> 00:05:20,560 Speaker 1: wherever you listen to your favorite shows.