Watch an acrobatic roadrunner make mincemeat out of a desert rattlesnake.
Agua Caliente Park is an historic park located on the east side of Tucson, Arizona. Way back in 1873, a ranch and health spa of sorts was built on the site "to promote the curative properties of the warm springs." Being that this unique, 101-acre park sits around waters that are spring-fed and surrounded by desert, a plethora of wildlife use the area. And, that includes the roadrunner.
Included on the list of indigenous creatures in the park is the venomous rattlesnake. Since it just so happens that roadrunners love to munch on these reptiles, it's just a matter of time until they run into one another and the fight to live is on.
It may sound all "survival of the fittest" but let it be known that roadrunners live to eat rattlers, and this one's seen its last slither. Here's the video:
That crazy bird is dynamite, and the snake just found out how explosive it really is. Did that rattlesnake really have a chance? Considering that this species of bird also loves to chow down on centipedes, tarantulas and scorpions, we would say no.
Roadrunners are members of the cuckoo family. There are two North American variations, the greater roadrunner (geococcyx californianus) and the lesser roadrunner (geococcyx velox). Most birds you'll see here in the U.S. are the greater roadrunner. They not only eat rattlesnakes regularly, but they're one of the only species that attacks and eats tarantula hawk wasps! That insect has what is considered one of the most painful stings on the planet!
They're very territorial, but monogamous creatures that live in the southwestern U.S. and parts of central America. Oh, and by the way, they'll eat hummingbirds, too! While they are extremely fast like the cartoons suggest, their vocalization is not that distinctive "beep beep" we've all come to know and love from Looney Tunes. Nope, instead this small bird races around the open country making a soft coo sound that is closer to what you'd hear from a dove.
Looking for a little more? Follow my webpage, or on Facebook and Twitter.
NEXT: WATCH THIS ROADRUNNER NAIL A HUMMINGBIRD RIGHT OUT OF THE AIR
WATCH
