A roadrunner sits on an old, burned fencepost in Owens Valley.

Funny thing about the Greater Roadrunner, their range stops right where I live. Any further north and the increase in altitude brings changes in climate that apparently don’t suit them. They come up the Owens Valley, a long channel running north to south between high mountain ranges. The valley has water, plenty of wildlife, and little snow.

After I noticed the range map, I looked up what it eats. Wikipedia says they are opportunistic omnivores:

Its diet normally consists of insects (such as grasshoppers, crickets, caterpillars, and beetles), small reptiles (such as lizards and snakes, including rattlesnakes), rodents and other small mammals, spiders (including tarantulas), scorpions, centipedes, snails, small birds (and nestlings), eggs, and fruits and seeds like those from prickly pear cactuses and sumacs.

Dang. Smash and grab artists. Warner Bros. made them seem so nice.

Well, we certainly have plenty of lizards here, but I guess they peter out to the north. I wonder if they eat wood rats? One of those little fiends moved into my car and did a lot of damage. I’d love to see a roadrunner skewer one of them.