Racer the Roadrunner

Hey kids! Racer the Roadrunner here. Sorry I’m out of breath. I just ran the race of my life. A 26-mile-an-hour sprint on an obstacle course! That’ll teach that coyote to try to have me for lunch. Now, where was I? Ah yes, running. I love to run. I can fly, but running is so much more fun! Besides, in the desert I’m camouflaged much better against the ground than I am against the sky. Oh, did I forget to mention that I live in the desert? I’m sorry, I had a list of things I wanted to talk about, but I must have lost it when I was sprinting.

Since I don’t remember what was on my list, let me just tell you a few basic things about me. I like to eat lots of different things: poisonous snakes, scorpions, lizards, mammals—you name it! Basically, if it moves and I can swallow it, it’s food. Sometimes I’ll make a snack out of some fruits and seeds as well, but there are not many plants in the desert so those are rare treats.

One thing I really like to do, since I move so fast, is work with and help others. I love working together with other roadrunners to either get a meal, or find a home, even if they don’t look a whole lot like me. You can learn something from this too. The Bible says in 1 John 4:11 to “Love one another.” That means you should help other people, whether or not they look like you or talk like you. Treat them with kindness, because that’s what God wants us to do. Take it from me, loving others is a lot more fun and a lot easier than being mean.

What’s that? Do you hear that? Sounds like the coyote’s coming back! Got to run! See ya!

Class: Aves
Order: Cuculiformes
Family: Cuculidae
Genus: Geococcyx
Species: californianus
Lifespan: up to 7 years