Another image using the desert UltraScenery set... The Greater Roadrunner is a denizen of the American southwest. It is omnivorous and opportunistic. Its diet includes insects, spiders, scorpions, centipedes, millipedes, lizards, small snakes, adult birds and their young and eggs, rodents, frogs, carrion, plant material. During severe food shortages, it may even eat its own young. Animal/insect food makes up about 90% of diet; fruit and seeds taken seasonally. It runs very quickly and will occasionally fly short distances. It grasps prey with its bill. Prey capture and handling behaviors depend on food being consumed. Bird prey are fully or partially plucked of feathers first. Snails are hammered on rocks to break shell. Scorpions are seized by the tail. Small mammals may be killed by a blow from the bill to the base of the skull. Attack on small rattlesnakes begins with rapid circling and jumping or wing flapping followed by aggressive head pecking. It stuns or kills large prey, such as lizards and rodents, by hitting them against rock, stick, or ground. It swings prey item through vertical, extended, oval-shaped trajectory ending in a downward accelerating slam against the substrate. It swallows large prey by grasping head in bill and with rapid, repeated thrusting, moves open jaws forward to surround head and forebody of prey item. Horned lizards are swallowed head first and dorsal side up so that head horns face posteriorly and away from Greater Roadrunner's vital organs when swallowed. Fatality of juveniles has resulted from attempts to swallow large Texas horned lizard. While roadrunners are able to survive on the water content in it’s food, it will drink water if available. It uses salt glands in front of its eyes to excrete excess salt from its blood. While the cartoon roadrunner is adept at getting away from Wyle E. Coyote, the real Greater Roadrunner can reach running speeds of 19 mph (30 kmh). To do so, it holds its head and tail flat and parallel to the ground. To prepare for cold nights, roadrunner will turn their backs to the sun and fluff their feathers. Their skin is black and acts as a solar collector, allowing the bird to stay warm.