California cuckoo marathon runner - what helps it run fast? California ground cuckoo (lat. Geococcyx californianus) What helps the California cuckoo run

The California or ground cuckoo, sometimes called the plantain, is well known to North Americans.
Habitat. Lives in the southwestern part of North America.

Habitat.
The California cuckoo is distributed on the northern outskirts of Mexico and in the southwestern part of the United States - California, Arizona, New Mexico, as well as Texas and Arkansas. Its typical habitat is arid sandy and rocky areas overgrown with sparse shrubs or grasses, forest edges and rare groves of dwarf oak. Quite often it can be seen on the sea coast.

Species: California cuckoo – Geococcyx californianus.
Family: Cuckoo.
Order: Cuckooformes.
Class: Birds.
Subphylum: Vertebrates

Reproduction.
Depending on the availability of food, California cuckoos produce 1-2 broods per season. In those places where the rainy season occurs only once a year, and food is tight, birds are limited to one brood per year. In places where heavy rainfall occurs twice a year, cuckoos manage to breed twice. The nest is usually placed 1-5 m above the ground, in a tangle of tree branches or on thorny cacti. Both partners participate in its construction: the male collects building material, and the female weaves a structure from twigs, dry herbs and pieces of snake crawling. When courting a female, the gentleman first presents her with a treat - a lizard or small snake, and then proudly walks in front of her with his tail raised, emitting dashing cries. At the decisive moment, the male jumps high and falls from above directly on his partner. After mating, the female lays from 2 to 6 (rarely up to 12) dirty white eggs at intervals of several days and begins incubation from the moment the first egg is laid. Incubation lasts 20 days.

Lifestyle.
California cuckoos live in pairs, leading a sedentary lifestyle, and fiercely defend their territory from intruders all year round. From morning to evening, birds busily scurry around their area, measuring kilometers in small steps, and running with equal ease over hot stones and loose sand. Having short wings, cuckoos fly poorly, reluctantly, and only over short distances. Early in the morning the cuckoo goes out for its daily hunt. The usual diet of this feathered predator consists of grasshoppers, snails, lizards, birds and mice. Poisonous snakes, including young rattlers, also often become its prey. Seeing the fleeing prey, the cuckoo rushes after it and inflicts a killing blow on it with its beak. The bird catches large insects in flight, jumping high into the air. She swallows small prey - insects, spiders or snails - whole, but grabs large prey in her beak and hits the ground with force several times. The ground cuckoo has no shortage of natural enemies: it is hunted by hawks, domestic cats, and skunks.

Did you know?

• The California cuckoo has a habit of storing the shells of snails it eats in one place. Heaps of shells are a clear sign that a ground cuckoo lives somewhere nearby.
• A running bird takes 21 steps per second, up to 65 cm long.
• When hunting for rattlesnakes, the ground cuckoo covers itself with its open wings, like a shield.
• The California cuckoo easily tolerates a lack of water, because special glands remove excess salts from its body.
• The ground cuckoo runs at a speed of approx. 20 km/h, but over short distances it can accelerate to 40 km/h.

California cuckoo – Geococcyx californianus.
Body length: 50-62 cm.
Wingspan: 45-60 cm.
Weight: 225-340 g.
Number of eggs in a clutch: from 2 to 12.
Incubation period: 20 days.
Sexual maturity: 2-3 years.
Diet: insects, reptiles.
Life expectancy: 7-8 years.

Structure.
Tuft. A crest of rather long feathers grows on the head, which stand on end in an excited bird.
Beak. The end of the large and strong beak is slightly curved down.
Brim around the eyes. There is a border of bare blue skin around the eyes.
Tail. A very long tail helps the bird make sharp turns while running.
Neck. The rather long neck makes it easier to search for food on the ground.
Wings. Short, weak wings do not allow long flights.
Legs. Long and strong legs are a typical sign of a good runner.
Plumage. The dorsal side of the body is brown with red and white longitudinal spots. The ventral side is off-white.
Fingers. Long fingers end in sharp claws.

The California plantain cuckoo is a bird belonging to the Cuckoo family. It lives in desert and semi-desert zones located in northern Mexico and the southern part of the United States. It has several names: California running cuckoo, California ground cuckoo, and in Latin - Geococcyx californianus. If you translate the name into English, you get “road runner”. And this is no coincidence: at a time when the main means of transport were carriages and carriages, birds ran after them, catching alarmed living creatures.

An adult plantain cuckoo, measured from beak to tail, can reach 60 cm. Due to its active lifestyle, its legs and tail are long. The location of the toes is specific: two forward and two back. Thanks to this structure, the bird does not get bogged down in loose soil. Its wings are short, so it cannot rise higher than 2 meters above the ground.

The tail, which accounts for almost half of the total length, serves as a rudder and brake (if necessary). The back, chest, head and crest are decorated by nature in brown tones with white splashes. The belly and neck are light. The key is bent downwards. In general, the Californian cuckoo looks very interesting. The photos show all her attractiveness.

The bird practically does not change its habitat; it moves around the selected territory. For this quality, she was classified as a sedentary bird. She can run at a speed of more than 40 km/h. It flies reluctantly; in extreme cases, it is able to stay in the air for a short time, measured in seconds. It makes quiet sounds, similar to cooing, and only when necessary. Relations with relatives are tolerant; no altercations were observed between them.

At night, the bird falls into a kind of “hibernation”, because it has areas of the body, called dark spots, not covered with feathers, due to which it reacts sharply to the ambient temperature. Waking up with the first rays of the sun, she spreads her wings and warms up, returning to normal.

The plantain cuckoo feeds on rodents, snakes, insects, lizards, small relatives and snails. It eats the latter, cleaning them from the shell. She is fast enough even to catch a small viper. She hits her prey with her head on the ground and swallows it whole.

The plantain cuckoo is a loner by nature. Pairs are formed only during the breeding season. A compact nest is always built together and only on a hill, for example, on a bush or cactus. The female can lay from 2 to 9 eggs, it all depends on the amount of food.

It differs from representatives of its family in that it does not throw eggs into other people's nests. Both the female and the male are involved in their incubation, as well as subsequent feeding. The chicks are given food that they feed on themselves. The chicks do not stay in the nest for long; after a week, the babies run briskly along the ground, looking for food.

The plantain cuckoo is easily domesticated. In Mexico, it is tamed to clear yards of rodents, small snakes, etc. It has been noticed that, like a cat, it sometimes plays with its prey, throwing it up and catching it. Mexicans occasionally use its meat for medicinal purposes.

This is such an unusual bird - the plantain cuckoo. Amazing creation of nature!

The California ground cuckoo, or California running cuckoo, or California plantain cuckoo (lat. Geococcyx californianus), belongs to the largest species of this family; total length 50-60 cm, of which 31-35 cm is on the tail; the wings reach only 17 cm in length. The plumage is motley, but not bright.

The plantain cuckoo is found everywhere from southern California and Texas to Mexico itself, and is well known for its original appearance and peculiar way of life. Both natives and settlers give it many names: in Mexico “little man” or “plantain”, in Texas - “steppe rooster”, in California it is called “ground cuckoo”.

Short wings do not allow it to make long flights; thanks to its long legs, it moves unusually quickly on the ground. Therefore, the plantain cuckoo belongs to sedentary birds in the full sense of the word, and only in extreme cases does it change its once chosen place of residence to another.

These birds are very unsociable; each of them lives separately and, as quietly and secretly as possible, almost never moving away from their place of residence. Here you can see how she calmly and calmly wanders, raising her tail and slightly tilting the front of her body. This bird moves completely differently in moments of danger. On the run she will not yield to any racing horse; at least in this respect no bird in North America can compare with it. When jumping, she is able to rise 3 m above the ground and, in order to maintain her body in the air, spreads her wings only for a minute, but is thus transported across vast spaces. She can fly quite quickly, but her short wings do not allow her to stay higher than 2 m above the ground.

This peculiar method of transportation sometimes prompts Mexicans to bait, which is undertaken, of course, not so much for the sake of cuckoo meat, but with the aim of demonstrating the skill of the rider in pursuit of such a fast bird. Colonel McCull said that he once noticed this cuckoo on the road and, for the sake of pleasure, rushed after it. The bird was in front of his horse at a distance of a hundred paces and immediately began to run when it saw itself being chased.

For more than 400 steps, McCull pursued the cuckoo along a narrow road, along which it rushed in leaps, stretching its neck and slightly spreading its short wings, but still could not catch up with it. When she finally disappeared into the thicket of the forest, the hunter was already 50 steps away from her. Dresser assures that he, too, often chased this bird, but never saw it use its wings, even in the most hasty flight.

All kinds of insects and soft-bodied animals, especially snails, constitute the food of the plantain cuckoo. She usually cleans the shells of snails in open places, so that in the forests inhabited by these cuckoos, the remains of her dinner are often found. This cuckoo also attacks vertebrates, especially reptiles, and is considered by the Mexicans to be the most important destroyer of the terrible and hated rattlesnake, whose young it is said to cope with easily.

Thanks to its skill in jumping, this cuckoo does not miss winged prey, and in general, in gluttony and predation, as well as in dexterity in obtaining prey, it is in no way inferior to other members of its family. The only sounds that we have so far been able to hear from plantain cuckoos are a weak, rarely emitted cry or coo, completely similar to the cooing of pigeons and accompanied by raising the crest and tail.

We do not have exact information about the method of reproduction of this bird. Herman found a nest clumsily woven from branches, containing two large white eggs, between the leaves of a cactus.

The favor that the plantain cuckoo enjoys among the Mexicans is explained by the ease with which it becomes a semi-domestic bird. She is often kept in captivity, and in a short time she becomes so accustomed to the changed circumstances that she can not only be allowed to walk freely around the house, but even to walk around the yard and garden.

Having got used to it, it soon becomes completely tame and provides real services by eating mice, small snakes and other reptiles, as well as beetles and other harmful animals. Its meat brings more imaginary than real benefits, since it is used by Mexicans as a healing agent against various diseases. This opinion gives the plantain cuckoo the honorable title of poultry, but often costs it its life. We also noticed that some cuckoos, like cats, play with caught prey for quite a long time, and then swallow it whole.

Scientific classification:
Domain: Eukaryotes
Kingdom: Animals
Type: Chordates
Class: Birds
Squad: Cuckoo-shaped
Family: Cuckoo
Genus: Plantain cuckoos
View: California ground cuckoo (lat. Geococcyx californianus (Lesson, 1829))

Translated from English, the name of this bird is road runner. This cuckoo rarely flies, but it runs very quickly on the ground and can reach speeds of over 40 kilometers per hour.

California ground cuckoo or California running cuckoo, or California plantain cuckoo(lat. Geococcyx californianus) - a North American bird from the cuckoo family ( Cuculidae). It lives in deserts and semi-deserts in the south and southwest of the United States and northern Mexico.

Description

Adult ground cuckoos reach a length of 51 to 61 cm, including the tail. They have a long, slightly downward curved beak. The head, crest, back and long tail are dark brown with light splashes. The neck and belly are also light. Very long legs and a long tail are adaptations to the desert running lifestyle.

The California ground cuckoo is an extremely good runner. It can reach speeds of up to 42 km/h. The special arrangement of her toes also helps her in this, since both outer toes are located back, and both inner toes are located forward. However, due to its short wings, it flies very poorly and can stay in the air for only a few seconds.

The California ground cuckoo has developed an unusual, energy-efficient way to spend cold nights in the desert. At this time of day, her body temperature drops and she falls into a kind of motionless hibernation. On its back there are dark areas of skin not covered with feathers. In the morning, she spreads her feathers and exposes these areas of skin to the sun, due to which her body temperature quickly returns to normal levels.

Nutrition

This bird spends most of its time on the ground and hunts snakes, lizards, insects, rodents and small birds. She is fast enough to kill even small vipers, which she grabs by the tail with her beak and hits her head on the ground like a whip. She swallows her prey whole. Its English name Road Runner(road runner) this bird received because it had the habit of running after mail coaches and grabbing small animals disturbed by their wheels.

Reproduction

The California ground cuckoo leads a monogamous lifestyle throughout the year. Unlike most members of the cuckoo family, it does not lay its eggs in other people's nests. They build their compact nest, in which from four to nine eggs are laid, in an elevated place, such as on cacti or bushes. Both parents care for the chicks.

California ground cuckoo is a North American bird from the cuckoo family (Cuculidae). It lives in deserts and semi-deserts in the south and southwest of the United States and northern Mexico.

Adult ground cuckoos reach a length of 51 to 61 cm, including the tail. They have a long, slightly downward curved beak. The head, crest, back and long tail are dark brown with light splashes. The neck and belly are also light. Very long legs and a long tail are adaptations to the desert running lifestyle.

The California ground cuckoo can reach speeds of up to 42 km/h. The special arrangement of her toes also helps her in this, since both outer toes are located back, and both inner toes are located forward. However, due to its short wings, it flies very poorly and can stay in the air for only a few seconds.

This bird spends most of its time on the ground and hunts snakes, lizards, insects, rodents and small birds. She is fast enough to kill even small vipers, which she grabs by the tail with her beak and hits her head on the ground like a whip. She swallows her prey whole. This bird got its English name Road Runner because it had the habit of running after mail coaches and grabbing small animals disturbed by their wheels.

Death Valley

Death Valley got its name from settlers who crossed it in 1849, seeking the shortest route to the California gold mines. The guidebook briefly reports that “some stayed there forever.” The dead were ill-prepared for crossing the desert, did not stock up on water and lost their orientation. Before dying, one of them cursed this place, calling it Death Valley. The few survivors withered mule meat on the wreckage of dismantled carts and reached their goal. They left behind “cheerful” geographical names: Death Valley, Funeral Ridge, Last Chance Ridge, Coffin Canyon, Dead Man's Passage, Hell's Gate, Rattlesnake Gorge, etc.

The Badwater Basin is the lowest part of Death Valley, located at 85.5 m below sea level. Once upon a time after the Ice Age, Death Valley was a huge lake of fresh water. The local hot and dry climate contributed to the inevitable evaporation of water. Annual short-term, but very intense rains wash tons of minerals from the surface of the mountains into the lowlands. The salts remaining after the evaporation of water settle at the bottom, reaching their highest concentration in the lowest place, in a reservoir with poor water. Here, rainwater lingers longer, forming small temporary lakes. Once upon a time, the first settlers were surprised that their dehydrated mules refused to drink water from these lakes, and marked “bad water” on the map. This is how this area got its name. In fact, the water in the pool (when it is available) is not poisonous, but it tastes very salty. It also has its own unique inhabitants that are not found in other places: algae, aquatic insects, larvae, and even a mollusk named after its place of residence, Badwater Snail.

Nearby is the lowest area in the Valley Badwater Basin. Salt behaves differently here. A uniform salt grid 4-6 cm high is formed on an absolutely flat white surface. The grid consists of figures gravitating towards a hexagon in shape, and covers the bottom of the Valley with a huge web, creating an absolutely unearthly landscape.

Sailing stones, also called sliding or crawling stones, are a geological phenomenon. The stones move slowly along the clayey bottom of the lake, as evidenced by the long tracks left behind them. The stones move independently without the help of living creatures, but no one has ever seen or recorded the movement on camera. Similar movements of stones have been noted in several other places, but in terms of the number and length of tracks, Racetrack Playa stands out from the rest.

The park's territory includes the Salina Valley, most of the Panamint Valley, as well as areas of several mountain systems. In the west rises Mount Telescope Peak, in the east – Mount Dante’s View, from the height of which a beautiful view of the entire valley opens.

coati- a mammal from the genus Noshu of the raccoon family. This mammal received its name for its elongated and very funny movable snout-nose.
Their head is narrow, their hair is short, their ears are round and small. There is a white rim on the edge of the inside of the ears. Nosukha is the owner of a very long tail, which is almost always in a vertical position. The animal uses its tail to balance itself when moving. The characteristic color of the tail is alternating light yellow, brown and black rings.

The color of the nose is varied: from orange to dark brown. The muzzle is usually a uniform black or brown color. There are light spots on the face, below and above the eyes. The neck is yellowish, the paws are black or dark brown.

the catch is elongated, the paws are strong with five fingers and non-retractable claws. The nose digs the ground with its claws, obtaining food. The hind legs are longer than the front legs. The length of the body from the nose to the tip of the tail is 80-130 cm, the length of the tail itself is 32-69 cm. The height at the withers is about 20-29 cm. They weigh about 3-5 kg. Males are almost twice as large as females.

Nosukhi live on average 7-8 years, but in captivity they can live up to 14 years. They live in tropical and subtropical forests of South America and the southern United States. Their favorite place is dense bushes, low-lying forests, and rocky terrain. Due to human intervention, lately nosos prefer forest edges and clearings.

They say that nosuhs used to be called simply badgers, but since real badgers moved to Mexico, the true homeland of nosuhs, this species received its own individual name.

All noses, including coatis, are predators! Coatis get food for themselves with their noses, diligently sniffling and groaning, they inflate the foliage in this way and look for termites, ants, scorpions, beetles, and larvae under it. Sometimes it can also feed on land crabs, frogs, lizards, and rodents. During the hunt, the coati clamps its prey with its paws and bites its head. In difficult times of hunger, the Nosukhi allow themselves vegetarian cuisine; they eat ripe fruits, which, as a rule, are always in abundance in the forest. Moreover, they do not make reserves, but return to the tree from time to time.

Males usually lead a solitary lifestyle and only during the mating season do they join family groups of females with young ones. During the mating season, which is usually from October to March, one male is accepted into the group of females and young ones. All mature females living in the group mate with this male, and soon after mating he leaves the group.

Nosukha gives birth to cubs once a year. Usually there are 2-6 cubs in a litter. Newborns weigh 100-180 grams and are completely dependent on the mother, who leaves the nest for a while to find food. The eyes open at approximately 11 days. The babies remain in the nest for several weeks, and then leave it with their mother and join the family group.
Lactation lasts up to four months. Young noses stay with their mother until she begins to prepare for the birth of the next offspring.

Red Lynx is the most common wild cat on the North American continent. In general appearance, this is a typical lynx, but it is almost twice as small as an ordinary lynx and is not so long-legged and wide-legged. Its body length is 60–80 cm, height at withers 30–35 cm, weight 6–11 kg. You can recognize a red lynx by its white

You can meet the red lynx in dense subtropical forests or in desert areas among prickly cacti, on high mountain slopes or in swampy lowlands. The presence of humans does not prevent it from appearing on the outskirts of villages or small towns. This predator chooses areas where it can feast on small rodents, nimble squirrels or timid rabbits and even prickly porcupines.

Vision and hearing are well developed. Hunts on the ground, sneaking up on prey. The lynx holds its prey with its sharp claws and kills it with a bite to the base of the skull. In one sitting, an adult animal eats up to 1.4 kg of meat. He hides the remaining surplus and returns to it the next day.For rest, the red lynx chooses a new place every day, without lingering in the old one. This could be a crack in the rocks, a cave, a hollow log, a space under a fallen tree, etc. On the ground or snow, the red lynx takes a step approximately 25 - 35 cm long; The size of an individual footprint is approximately 4.5 x 4.5 cm. When walking, they place their hind paws exactly in the tracks left by their front paws. Thanks to this, they never make very loud noise from the crackling of dry twigs under their feet. Soft pillows on their legs help them calmly sneak up to the animal at close range. Bobcats are good tree climbers and can also swim across a small body of water, but they only do this on rare occasions.

The red lynx is a territorial animal. The lynx marks the boundaries of the site and its paths with urine and feces. In addition, she leaves marks of her claws on trees. The male learns that the female is ready to mate by the smell of her urine. A mother with cubs is very aggressive towards any animal or person that threatens her kittens.

In the wild, males and females like to be alone, meeting only during the breeding season. The only time when individuals of different sexes look for meetings is during the mating season, which occurs at the end of winter - the beginning of spring. The male mates with all the females that are in the same area with him. The female's pregnancy lasts only 52 days. Cubs are born in the spring, blind and helpless. At this time, the female tolerates the male only not far from the den. After about a week, the babies' eyes open slightly, but for another eight weeks they remain with their mother and are fed with her milk. The mother licks their fur and warms them with her body. The female red lynx is a very caring mother. In case of danger, she moves the kittens to another shelter.

A male bobcat often occupies an area of ​​100 km2, and border areas may be shared by several males. The female's area is half the size. Within the territory of one male, 2-3 females usually live. A male red lynx, whose territory is often home to three females and cubs, must provide food for 12 kittens.

Among the almost two and a half thousand species of higher plants found in the flora of the Sonoran Desert, the most widely represented are species from the family of Compositae, legumes, cereals, buckwheat, euphorbia, cactus and borage. A number of communities characteristic of the main habitats make up the vegetation of the Sonoran Desert.

The extensive, slightly sloping alluvial fans support vegetation, the main components of which are clumps of creosote bush and ragweed. They also include several types of prickly pear, quinoa, acacia, fuqueria, or ocotillo.

On the alluvial plains below the fans, the vegetation cover mainly consists of sparse forest of mesquite trees. Their roots, penetrating into the depths, reach groundwater, and roots located in the surface layer of soil, within a radius of up to twenty meters from the trunk, can intercept precipitation. A mature mesquite tree reaches a height of eighteen meters and can be more than a meter wide. Nowadays, only pitiful remnants of the once majestic mesquite forests remain, long cut down for fuel. The mesquite forest is very similar to the black saxaul thickets in the Karakum Desert. The forest, in addition to mesquite, includes clematis and acacia.

Near the water, along the banks of rivers, near the water, there are poplars, with ash and Mexican elder mixed in with them. Plants such as acacia, creosote bush and celtis grow in the beds of arroyos, drying up temporary streams, as well as in the adjacent plains. In the Gran Desierto Desert, near the Gulf of California coast, ragweed and creosote bush dominate the sandy plains, while ephedra and tobosa, ragweed, grow on the sand dunes.

In the Arizona Highlands, northwest of the Sonoran Desert, the vegetation is especially colorful and varied. The denser vegetation cover and diversity of vegetation is due to more rainfall here than in other areas of Sonora, as well as the ruggedness of the terrain, a combination of steep slopes of different exposures and hills. A peculiar cactus forest, in which the main place is occupied by the giant columnar saguaro cactus, with a low-growing encelia shrub located between the cacti, is formed on gravelly soils with a large amount of fine earth. Also among the vegetation there are large barrel-shaped ferocactus, ocotillo, paloverde, several types of prickly pear, acacia, celtis, creosote bush, as well as mesquite tree, in the floodplains.

The trees and bushes of the Sonoran Desert that attract attention with their unique appearance include ivory tree, ironwood and idria, or buium, growing only in two areas of the Sonoran Desert, located in Mexico, which is part of the region of Latin America.

The Vizcaino region is located in the central third of the California Peninsula. There is little precipitation, but the air is cool, as humid sea breezes often bring fogs, weakening the aridity of the climate. Rain falls mainly in winter and averages less than 125 mm. Here in the flora there are some very unusual plants, bizarre landscapes are characteristic: fields of white granite boulders, cliffs of black lava, etc. Interesting plants are bujamas, an ivory tree, a 30 m high cordon, a throttle ficus growing on the rocks and a blue palm. In contrast to the main Vizcaino Desert, the Vizcaino Coastal Plain is a flat, cool, foggy desert with 0.3 m tall shrubs and fields of annuals.

Riverine communities are usually isolated ribbons or islands of deciduous forest along temporary streams. There are very few permanent or dry watercourses (the largest is the Colorado River), but there are many where water appears only a couple of days or even a few hours a year. Dry beds, or "washes", of arroyos - "arroyos" - are places where many trees and shrubs are concentrated. Xerophilic open forests along dry riverbeds are highly variable. Along some ephemeral streams, almost pure mesquite forest occurs, others may be dominated by blue paloverde or ironwood, or develop a mixed forest. Characteristic is the so-called "desert willow", which is actually a catalpa.