Road+Runner


 * //   Geococcyx californianus    // **


 * [[image:roadrunner8.gif width="123" height="57" align="left"]]The road runner belongs to the kingdom animilia which in Latin means animal. The roadrunner’s scientific name is //Geococcyx californianus.// It is an interesting animal. To classify into the animal kingdom means the animal is mobile, it consumes its surroundings, and it is multi-cellular. To be multi-cellular means the organism has more than one cell so you don’t die when your cells die off. The organism’s cells are eukaryotic which means they have nuclei to protect the DNA. Out animal is mobile, it consumes food (nutrients), and it is multi-cellular. It is also a bird. There are many kinds of animals that classify in different phylum. There are fish, birds, mammals, amphibian, crocodilian, and many others. Then there are classes, order, families, genus, and species. The animal kingdom is completely different from the other kingdoms. The fungi, protist, and plant kingdoms are alike, because they grow and are not mobile, but the animal kingdom is not. Eubacteria and Archaebacteria are also alike; the animal kingdom is still different. That is why we chose this kingdom.**


 * The roadrunner is a unique, large, black and white, bird. Its habitat is open, flat or rolling terrain with some dry brush or desert scrub. Its status is that it is not threatened. The roadrunner’s diet in the wild consists of insects, crickets, grasshoppers, caterpillars, ants, beetles, mice, lizards, and snakes. In the zoo its diet consists of mice, bees, and insects. Its location in the zoo is the Texas Wild exhibit! Its weight is 8-24ounces and its length is 20-24 inches. Its height is 10-12 inches. It lays 2-12 eggs and its life span is 7 to 8 years. The roadrunner has very strong feet, a white-tipped tail, and an oversized bill. When the roadrunner senses danger it flies lowly, but it cannot stay in the air for more than a few seconds. It can run up to 17 miles per hour! This is a very fast, unique bird known as the roadrunner.**

**Click below to hear our song on road runners. You may sing along using the lyrics at the botom of our page!media type="file" key="roadrunner song (2).mp3" ** **Deck the halls with all those roadrunners** **Fa la la la la la la la** **Tis their scientific name is Geococcyx californianus** **Fa la la la la la la la la** **They live in the desert and aren’t threatened** **Fa la la la la la la la la** **Running fast and going shopping** **Fa la la la la la la la la** **Eating bees and mice and insects** **Fa la la la la la la la la** **They have strong feet and a head crest** **Fa la la la la la la la la** **They have a white tipped tail with an oversized bill** **Fa la la la la la la la la** **They can run up to 17 miles per hour** **Fa la la la la la la la la** **Beepbeep**