Our sad duty today is to tell you that our [the] baby roadrunner has died. He [or she] was wounded on the back leg. We can’t tell whether by a cat or a fence or some other accident. For a day and a night, he hopped around on his good leg in our enclosed front yard where his Mom and Dad fed him and we supplemented that with water and bits of raw meat.
A local rescue place suggested that we bring him in for examination but here is a fact: One-legged roadrunners are faster than two-legged humans. Besides, we were afraid that the stress of our chasing him would do more harm than good. And he seemed to be improving. He was eating and drinking and, after the first night, he began putting weight on the leg. The next morning we watched him hunting insects.
But an hour or so later, he was dead.
As we have told you before, a baby bird that gets hurt is far more likely to die than to live. Infant mortality among birds is enormous and any injury makes it far less likely that a baby will survive. It is why Greater Roadrunners and many other birds often have two clutches of babies a year. Survival requires abundance.
We know that we’re not supposed to feel too bad, but he lived in our neighborhood and when he was in trouble chose our front yard. Moreover, we’re humans; the species which understands the world’s absences, and so we miss him and are sad this day.
Tags: Baby Roadrunner, bird rescue, infant mortality in birds
Fat Finch — Backyard Birds, Birding & Blogging 
February 8, 2009 at 10:49 am |
that made me want to cry so sad i felt so bad
April 2, 2009 at 9:18 pm |
How and what to feed a new baby roadrunner
April 7, 2010 at 1:59 pm |
Very sorry to hear abourt you little roadrunner.
In our backyard, in Moreno Valley, Ca. We found a baby bird just about days old dying. He was so cold and we did not know how to really care for him. We took him in the house, kept him in a box with terri cloth bottom and a small stuffed tiger. We gave him water through a seringe and feed him meat time baby food and eventually moist cat food. Fed him around the clock and gave him plenty of water. He was so cute with his mouth wide open when ever he heard us come close to his box. We eventuallt, took him to the forever wild santuary in Phelan, Ca. We thought all this time he was a hauk, since we have plenty of hauks where we live, but it turn out, to be a roadrunner. We will go to see him next week at the santuary, we miss him.
Thank you,
Myrna