https://www.inaturalist.org/guides/669
Meep Meep
One of my desert wildlife neighbors came for a visit, shortly after we moved to Sun City Festival. My new friend, the “Greater Roadrunner,” landed on top of our brick fence, looked over at me and yelled out, “Meep Meep.” I assumed this to be his name.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greater_roadrunner
Meep Meep first made friends with Native Americans. They settled here next to the White Tank Mountains and other indigenous communities long ago. The Natives believed the Roadrunner chased away evil spirits.
I see Meep Meep just about every day while riding my bike around the neighborhood. Sometimes he stops for a moment right in front of me with his Meep Meep salutation and runs off. Do Roadrunner’s ever fly?
Yes! Meep Meep does fly at times, but he prefers to chase down his lunch. He loves insects and mice as gourmet delights.
Rattlesnakes are especially a delicious snack. Meep Meep encircles the snake with cactus as a trap. He runs in circles playing hide and seek, making the snake dizzy and disoriented. Then, he pounces, biting the snakes neck for the kill.
Meep Meep is a good friend, too. He’s playful and loves to race and outrun his foes on the ground or in the air. These guys can run 20mph or more.
You can look for Roadrunner nests hidden in low growing cactus like Prickly Pear. They build sort of a fort underneath the cactus as a nest to keep their eggs and little ones safe.
Most of us first got to know Meep Meep as a cartoon character when we were kids. Click the YouTube clip and enjoy Meep Meep’s playful antics that still make us laugh.
Look for Meep Meep as you walk along your neighborhood or observe when they visit in your backyard. You can make friends with a Roadrunner, too.
