A Roadrunner Comes Calling

Very sleek and spry
Feathers ruffled in the wind
Prowling for a lunch

~carliewired

We slept late this morning. It was grey, overcast and windy. Not the usual sunny wake-up we expect. We decided to stay in, have a late breakfast at home and really relax. I've been puttering around with some art materials and some new books. D settled in with his laptop. We soon noticed a visitor to the yard. One lone roadrunner had ventured in, on the hunt for something to eat. He seemed to be finding something between the rocks. I was hoping it wasn't any of our resident lizards. He prowled around the house into the backyard. I thought he'd flee if I opened the back door so I tried taking some photos through my north window. The venetian blinds are something of an impediment. D slowly opened the back door for me and I was able to get a few shots of this visitor. He kept his distance from me in the doorway but didn't seem particularly alarmed by my presence. 
Roadrunners are omnivores so they eat a variety of different things from reptiles to seeds. The roadrunner (Geococcyx californianus) is the state bird of New Mexico. It is quite a large bird, standing almost 12 inches tall. A roadrunner can move rapidly. It's colouring allows it to almost disappear in the desert landscape. The long tail often drags along the ground. It sometimes flicks straight up. When it runs the tail levels out horizontally. They are quite interesting to watch.