the bird from hail

Remember this roadrunner that visited us one day last summer?

The one that I saw lurking and stalking and eventually grabbing a sweet baby cardinal for its afternoon snack? You can click the 'roadrunner that visited us' above to remind you of that ugly day.

When we returned home from the Dr.'s appointment the other day...the remnants of the hail storm made the back yard look like a light snow fall had dusted the backyard. It was pretty. As I was standing at the kitchen sink washing my hands, I noticed some movement in the corner of the yard. It seems as though "that corner" is the prime hangout area for all things that like to move in our yard! I couldn't tell what it was for sure, so I grabbed my camera and moved to a different window.

At that point I could see that it was a carnivorous roadrunner. That is not my adjective for the bird, carnivorous is actually the grouping of birds that they are categorized in. You can read more about these birds and their eating habits here. I could see the roadrunner had something in its beak, but I couldn't tell what it was at first. The roadrunner, in the aftermath of hail, was lifting its head up and whipping it back down to the ground, slamming what it had in its beak to the ground. Pounding after pounding. Beating after beating. Bringing its catch to the cold layer of hail over and over again. I watched in horror, not able to capture that part on film. (can you use that statement anymore? film? seems strange to say..."I caught that on digital") Ok...back to the beating. It continued to slam what was now recognized as another bird. When the bird was finally limp and thoroughly pulverized ( that is what  they do, they beat their catch until the bones are pulverized) the roadrunner made its way across the icy, hail covered yard.

And this is when I was able to get a few pictures. After he had pulverized his catch, he was now ready for the escape from our yard. He dashed one way...

looked over his shoulder for an easy way out...or to make sure nothing was moving in behind him to steal his recent tenderized kill and...

      after pausing for just a moment he jumped up and disappeared over the fence.

I have decided I do not like these carnivorous birds very well. They are creepy. A little too violent for me. If you choose to read about them, you will learn that they actually do this to snakes as well. Rattlesnakes. They pierce their heads over and over again with their sharp beaks and beat them... and then it says they begin to eat them whole. One end goes in and they swallow as much as they can. While waiting for the stomach acids to start digesting that end, they let the other end dangle out of their beaks. Then they swallow a bit more until all of the snake is digested.  Do you know how long those snakes are? Although, I would not mind them keeping the snake population to a minimum, if I ever witness that particular *carnivicousness ...

I think I will feel like I am being pulverized on a cold day of hail.



* carnivore + viciousness =carniviciousness . Spell check does not like my made up word!