Roadrunner Couple Building a Nest And Raising Chicks

[@KLG777]

Thank you, for all of us who would never get to see this❤❤❤

[@Trund27]

Yeah!! I live in northern Canada, so this is a first for me. What lovely birds!

[@larou14]

​@@Trund27Dans le nord du Canada ? Where ? Thank you so much for this video! 😊

[@MrPLC999]

A sad thing about these wild birds is they are all just saturated with mites. Then the babies are crawling with mites too. Also, mosquitoes like to sneak in under the mother at night and bite the babies. The adults eat most of the feces right out of the baby's butts. Pretty gross. I've seen all this via close up video.

[@e.conboy4286]

@@MrPLC999: As if these aren’t bad enough, ants, bees and wasps will eat them. We found baby squirrels without fur which may have fallen out of the nest covered with Fire Ants and nearly dead. So sad… Thank you for sharing this remarkable video!

[@ΚυριακοςΔελιτζακης]

Μα καλλα ολλοι εσεις στον καναδα που ειδατε αφτο το βιντεο με αφτο το πουλι ..ειστε στραβοι το θυλικο γενησε 4αβγα που τα επωασε και μετα μαλον βαρεθηκε να τρεχει να μαζεβει τροφη να ταιζη αλλα3στοματα και αρχισε να πιανει τα πεδια της και να πεταει απο φωλια εξω..μικρα πουλια για πεταμα..χωρια αυφτο που μολις εσκασε απο ταβγο του.τελικα εσεις μα ολλοιειστε χαζοι..πασχεται απο προσοχη παρατηριτικοτητα..αι στα κοματια στραβοι

[@cndns2]

Brutal. 4 eggs and every fledgling was removed except for one. Goodness.

[@josephlalock8378]

too bad this is not acceptable for humans

[@recklesswhisper]

"They" choose who is to live! ^..^~~

[@samsignorelli]

Life ain't no Disney film...

[@lifeforce3451]

@@samsignorelli if you really seen disney movie they are very dramatic so yes is a disney movie, check Bamby

[@pioneercynthia1]

Mostly, they eat the eggshells. But, yeah, pitching out the nesting? I thought only storks did that.

[@EyeSeeThruYou]

Great nesting platform! Wish we had this species here. Poor dove, looking for space, too. Hope she found a nice spot.

[@pioneercynthia1]

Doves have really loose nests made of sticks, so it might have considered it a choice find! "Woohoo! Already made!"

[@DamonCalderwood]

Amazing footage of the pair. I've photographed Roadrunners in Portal, Arizona, and observed other nests in Morongo, California, but have never seen a parent reject one of its own hatchlings. I've shot over 135 species of birds at the nest all over Western North America and Hawaii, and not once have I seen this. Very intriguing as to why they would choose to oust a chick of their own. I do videos at the nest myself, feel free to peruse my channel for BC birds. Cheers, Damon

[@EyeSeeThruYou]

There are several possible explanations for rejection of chicks. Some rejections may occur due to abrupt changes in weather or food availability. If a chick hatches much later than its siblings, it may be rejected (timing of food availability plays a role). Also, a late-hatching chick may be perceived as ill or unlikely to survive, and may be rejected by the parents. That may have been the case here, where the egg hatched too late and would prolong the breeding cycle, risking reduced food availability or attracting a predator to the nest. Some species developed a reprductive strategy to ensure survival where two chicks are produced. If conditions are favorable and the older chick survives, the younger chick is ignored and starves to death. It's a reproductive adaptation which evolved in certain species, though heart rendering for humans to witness when studying species with this adaptation, especially if that species is already endangered. In any case, chick rejection is always a difficult to situation to witness for those who study wildlife.

[@krafty813]

​@@EyeSeeThruYouYour post is very informative as to the reasons for rejecting the mother might reject the chicks. Btw, it's "rending" not "rendering."

[@Ddax-td7qy]

I spent 4 days at Portal now so long ago. Magical place! Bless your calling!

[@The-KP]

Brood culling is not unusual in the avian world. That it happened here so methodically and quickly (to healthy nestlings, by all appearances!) indicates that it may be in response to ecosystem pressures, as ​@EyeSeeThruYou pointed out, so it's likely an instinctual behavior. Pre-fledging, the final chick almost resembles a parasitic cuckoo nestling, did anyone else see that? Then I looked it up and learned that roadrunners are part of the cuckoo family, Cuculidae. TIL!

[@chir0pter]

@@EyeSeeThruYou I think all the chicks seemed about the same age and vigor. Especially the second one seemed even slightly more robust. i wonder if the long presence of the unhatched egg was making mom feel like something was off and she didn't identify what it was.

[@angeloddrev]

Wow that's savage, poor chicks.

[@PaloXanthos]

Looks like a good quality Acme Corporation nest

[@johnhall3570]

“Good quality” and “Acme Corporation” are contradictions in terms! 😂

[@AnastasiaRomanov-w9x]

Beep beep!

[@jamesa.rodriguez8598]

😂 Beep beep!

[@AnastasiaRomanov-w9x]

@@jamesa.rodriguez8598 I don’t think many people know what that means. I used to watch those cartoons as a kid in The 50s and later in the 1980s I watched them with my own kids.

[@christopherhutchinson8043]

🤣🤣

[@JuneWood-qh5py]

What I love about wildlife is learning that in the wild when you’re wild there’s no laws for wildlife they are truly free from humans there’s no one can tell them what to do or how to live and they don’t care if you like it or not that’s being truly free I absolutely appreciate all of wildlife thank you for the video

[@DHL4Jesus]

Thank you! Just an amazing video!!

[@weftwarp1537]

Thanks for sharing the video. It was real informative and a tad harsh. I guess she lays backup eggs in case the first hatchling dies but 😢

[@judykinsman3258]

Gosh. Thanks for sharing this. I miss my roadrunners so prevalent where I use to live in TX.

[@recklesswhisper]

Roadrunners used to populate all of the Mojave Desert, not now. ^..^~~

[@The-KP]

Great video, well-edited. Roadrunners are a beautiful species. And it's cute, how the nestlings flap their wings so ineffectually.

[@rhondafarrow6235]

I don't think it was being ineffectual considering they were auditioning to be the sole chick that gets to live.

[@The-KP]

@@rhondafarrow6235 Haha, good response

[@chrisanderson6466]

Wait you're telling me they don't go MEEP MEEP and poof into a cloud of smoke after running away from coyotes with rockets on their backs?

[@mjgnmgal1715]

Absolutely amazing! Thank you.

[@Ddax-td7qy]

so cool! Thanks! I love the part where parent has to figure out: baby small; lizard large. Hmmm.

[@miaadams4252]

Dove, go build your own nest 🪹 😂😂 poor dove🤣

[@DarkVoidIII]

Looked like the same species repeatedly came back to that same nest or possibly the same dove as it was checking the nest location several times in the video.

[@shaneenanderson9958]

They suck at building their own nest LoL.

[@jeer0920]

Oh no we got a squatter!!!! Lol

[@Parakeetfriend4215]

More like obnoxious dove. Someone else caught on film a pigeon just swiftly moving into a falcons nest with the falcon on the nest. The shock in the falcons eyes as dinner came strolling in, but after she nearly tore up the stupid bird, it got away. Pigeon and dove are the same family and I guess that they don't see well straight ahead.

[@markuse3472]

You're what it sounds like when doves cry.

[@CatBirdFemme]

Had to keep evicting that dove. Squatter!

[@DarkVoidIII]

It looked like in some feedings that the chicks or nestlings of other species were being fed to the surviving nestling. There was at least one instance where it seemed plain that there were bird legs sticking out of the nestling's mouth. Mother Nature is a harsh mistress, they seemed determined to get the other chick to survive, by whatever means necessary.

[@TheGripper74]

I thought it was one of the rejected siblings!

[@djsvdmylife19]

It was it's own rejected baby. They do thst in times when food is scarce I personally didn't see a shortage of lizards haha. TMI for me.

[@stuff2047]

They fed them whole frogs a few times, maybe that’s what you saw.

[@shannonspage9360]

these birds tend to consume their food whole

[@DR-sv8ke]

​@@djsvdmylife19 it was a baby Qual. I live in AZ and they catch them all the time for food.

[@desertnaturealliance]

😍💚🌵omg jealous!!! The video is fantastic !!!! We have two resident roadrunners but for the life of me we have never seen their nest! I absolutely love these birds . Thank you for sharing!!!

[@dpspike9368]

Amazing. Thank you.

[@sylviawilliams4640]

Thank you for sharing. Intriguing to know the parent birds only keep one hatchling. 😢

[@weftwarp1537]

Ya gotta admire that dove😅 He knew a good nest when he saw one. Doves are notorious for building real shabby unstable 🪹. I loved how he continued to coo in the background.

[@shannonspage9360]

Yep a dove nest...two sticks on a flat surface. Most definitely not the smartest of birds

[@antonioseica4209]

Tradução

[@billhuff131]

Squatters are a problem everywhere 😂

[@carlosrivera4660]

Yeah but. They kick them out Really fast. Humans they have to do paper work. And that will take months to kick them out. Specially in New York USA. The system doesn’t work on your favor. 😂 Question why she eat those chicks.

[@AdullFiddler-ez7tm]

I had a home office with a French door in a remote cabin and every day a Road Runner with a lizard in its beak came right up to the door and shook the lizard back and forth vigorously as if to impress me. He had to have seen me sitting at my desk. The darndest thing. He often went on the roof peak or in a nearby California Pepper tree and sang a mournful song. There were coyotes around as well...and Bobcats. Poor little Mourning Dove.

[@AniFam]

Thank you for sharing this video~🤗

[@stephanietribuna8591]

Beautiful work by these parents. What a lovely nest. Got to love they are raising a family. How precious.

[@Drewv86]

Not so beautiful work when the parents rejected the other babies

[@stoopidhumor1]

Did we watch the same video?

[@drawingmomentum]

Gross. She fed 1 baby to another. 🤮

[@JoeCarrubba]

kristi are u there?

[@LinkaBellGAME]

fascinating how three of the four got rejected by the oldest one is doing just fine. fourth was just really late to the game and probably wouldn't have thrived anyway. But the other two seemed lively. Thank you for your shots of this beautiful species, I'm hoping when I move to Arizona I'll get to see some.

[@georgesealy4706]

You won't have to look very hard. They are numerous.

[@LinkaBellGAME]

@@georgesealy4706 I'm excited about that knowledge!

[@sarimanismanto539]

AWESOME, THANKS FOR THE BIRD VIDEO FOOTAGE.

[@FlyBikes089]

Impressive video!!! Thank you for sharing with us! Cheers I’m David and, from Maryland, USA!

[@lindayoungartist]

They’re ruthless! Yikes

[@alexacarrillo4339]

If you ate rattlesnakes you would need to be ruthless as well😂

[@NeddieFonseca-ze9vn]

Amazing video! Put together and edited very well. I was also surprised to see the other chicks rejected, but I guess they were trying to ensure the survival of the strongest chick. Nature always finds a way to balance itself. It’s only when humans interfere (like introducing invasive species) when things get all out of wack. I’ve lived in Fort Worth, Texas for the past 5 and a half years and just got to see one of these birds in the wild for the first time about a week ago. It was crossing a back road I took on the way to work. I knew right away what it was. Amazing looking birds Thank you for the video

[@taffyb4007]

How great! Very special indeed!

[@derps0n839]

No doves allowed!

[@andresamaya7350]

What's up with doves and pigeons ALWAYS trying to usurp EVERY NEST they see? 😆

[@melanieklingensmith7084]

This is so wonderful! Thank you for making the video🙂

[@raghunathank327]

Wonderful capture. Any idea why the parents reject seemingly healthy chicks?

[@niflheimder6348]

not enough food

[@kerianhalcyon2769]

@@niflheimder6348 Usually that right there. Not enough food to go around for all five of them. Seen a vid recently of a family of two parents with three juvies in someone's back porch/kitchen area, implying the person might have been feeding them or leaving out food for the parents. But this apparently happens a lot with various carnivorous birds.

[@gsbealer]

No room for 2nd best in this nest!

[@SirFoodie1904]

Nature seems cruel but only the strongest survive. The parents chooses the strongest chick.

[@ravenmckinnon5526]

Where to they take the rejected chicks? Do they eat them or take them to the doves nest and leave them there for them to raise? Lol

[@sabimail]

Thank you ❤️😊 very match.

[@missy183]

Thanks for sharing this awesome video. God bless. 🙏❤

[@dbeachmawmaw]

Wow. I didn't know she would reject the babies like that. Interesting. I wonder why they wait and mate in warmer weather so there would be more food.

[@macplethora]

Yes, they should (and have in years past) start nesting later in the season. BTW, it was the male roadrunner who rejected the nestlings.

[@lindaadelwerth8042]

​@@macplethoraWhy did he reject the babies?

[@Jewelmind]

Ya, maybe not enough food

[@doghairdontcarelindaniel7531]

He wanted a paternity test……

[@lindaadelwerth8042]

@macplethora Oh sorry ,Thought it was the Mom

[@salaymisor1]

Thanks for uploading

[@IM358]

Very good video. Cruel parent, rejected their own chicks. Left one out of four.

[@NicholausLewis]

It’s a hard life. 😂

[@garden2356]

😢

[@TheBlackScatPack]

Cruel in the sense of humanity but just natural survival for them since food is scarce. Some birds would just turn them into a snack if things get rough.

[@Arbysroastbeefjuice]

It’s nature

[@raulvega4016]

They live in a freaking desert, they don't have human facilities, it is so easy to speak when you have privileges

[@Birgit-s2l]

Zukünftige Vogeleltern,einmalig,wunderbare Natur.

[@FlyHighBirds]

We had House Wren Birds nesting and breeding in a flowerpot in the wardrobe. This is now the 2nd brood in a year. Luckily the young animals are very safe!

[@leoruotsalainen6339]

Great animal video. Thanks a lot 👍👍🐦🐦

[@petraburg3583]

Das Schnarren und Johlen ist einzigartig..😂.. sind starke Vögelchen, schade, dass es die bei uns nicht gibt😊

[@Anastasiia391]

This video is very interesting and informative

[@nelsondocarmo5617]

❤❤❤😂😂😂Eu nunca tinha visto isso antes!!!!Que lindos pássaros!!!!!

[@kismypencek6185]

Man o day! Great footage. Crazay two got killed and they fed the kid another baby bird of some kind. 😮Yikes. Interesting they didn't do much regurgitation as i would have thought. 💚💚💚

[@cleisonlima3276]

THX for Sharing

[@MsAliceinwonderland]

This is incredible!

[@jerrodbeck1799]

Amazing thank you for sharing new subscriber👍🏻

[@schong119]

So adorable. ❤️❤️

[@jeetkumarchandjkc7115]

Thank you so so much

[@jayaccord]

What they do with the ones they reject?

[@SweetJustice]

The parents knew all 4 chicks wouldn’t fit in that nest.

[@ahmaddanieal9468]

~ The Nest was very small for 4 chicks thus got to reject the other 3 ~ ~😂~

[@r.c.b.8087]

After all those screaming babies, dad was like, “I’m out”!! 🤣

[@3_Gold_Coins]

What is the best place to setup a nest on your property. My guess is northwest corner of a house

[@macplethora]

Well, the roadrunners picked the location. Here is the backstory: In 2022 and 2023 we had some temporary shelves on our back patio (facing east) because of construction/renovation. The roadrunner couple discovered the top shelf (about 6.5 feet above ground) and build a nest on it in both years. In 2022 they laid two eggs but abandoned them after a week. In 2023 they never fully completed the nest. Both years they were active in late April. In mid-February 2024 we saw the roadrunner couple check out our patio again, but the shelves were gone - thankfully we completed our construction project and removed the shelves. So I quickly build a nesting platform and installed it in the same location, 7 feet above the ground, along with the camera. It took the birds less than 24 hours to start a nest on the new platform. Apparently they liked the location. We stopped using our patio, and closed the blinds on the window facing the patio/nest. We had a successful nesting/hatching cycle this year. It is surprising how early they started nesting, but it has been warmer than usual here in Southern New Mexico. We think the lack of food early in the season led to the rejection of the three hatchlings.

[@MellowWind]

At least they finally got the lining done. Better late than never.

[@KangSuryono-e6y]

Ternyata anaknya diseleksi sama induknya ...dipilih yg paling bagus,... Tmks videonya

[@mikelange7319]

Imagine if everyone was forced to build their own homes otherwise be homeless. Have to give animals the credit they deserve

[@mraa4950]

Dove was searching for a good real estate to raise its own chicks I encourage everyone to build small nests in your locality so our future generations can have same privileges as we have

[@Batbird74]

Clearly dinosaurs still exist!

[@missy183]

So cute 😍

[@sarahporter9541]

One of my favorite birds..and we have them run through our yard periodically in AZ...Love all the up close shots of their life we never see. Interesting that they only kept one chick...yikes...

[@robertteves6088]

Why were the hatchlings rejected and what probably happened to the rejected hatchlings ?

[@mrwest5552]

good job you roadrunners

[@dennisclapp7527]

Very interesting - Thanks

[@naturezadigital4873]

Esse cara é sucesso em todo canto😂😂

[@LifesLittleWonders]

Amazing 😍🤩👍👌❤️❤️❤️

[@TheLiveNature]

Amazing sharing, these birds are so awesome, I just subscribed to your channel 🛎️ and Like 👍, have a great days ♻️✅🌳

[@alejandrosuarez1109]

Hey man you are so lucky to have the luxury of having them roadrunners!!! In your camera's sight. WOW,WOW,WOW. I envy you!!!

[@pattimiller9157]

Omg they are so beautiful ❤😊

[@jimbox8762]

Love this video - sign Wile E. Coyote.

[@mgomez5606]

Why did two get rejected?

[@TheBlackScatPack]

From what most people were saying they believe this pair had their chicks earlier than normal so food was scarce.

[@NatureLovingWoman]

Amazing video 👏👍❤️

[@nadeemmustafa6450]

LUCKIEST CHICK LEAVING THE NEST A LIVE 🥴🥴🥴🇵🇰🇵🇰🇵🇰 BEST WISHES FROM PAKISTAN

[@TKO67]

Told that dove what time it is.

[@mikebull7775]

Poor little Roadrunners never bothered anyone.

[@JUNEYMOON9881]

Does it seem that she dispatched the young because of the nest area? Ive never seen the nest size before. Thank you for the video.

[@andreaardy1080]

I thought that maybe the male knew the nest wouldn’t be big enough for them all as they grew and dint want them falling out making noise to attract attention.

[@Rocketman88002]

A very unusual happening for this wild desert predator! I had them in my back yard........open desert and came across many nests lying right there on the desert floor. The eggshells sort of pop or crack before the hatchlings leave their temporary home.

[@jaysky2000]

I only made it to 6 minutes. Poor little hatchling rejected. 😮 Too brutal for me. Lol

[@sotheamam1244]

Why were those babies being removed I don’t get it

[@ratumanuk]

Burung yang sangat cantik 👍😘👍😘

[@ld3511]

Love this video.

[@gregsurles4199]

Curious why the other chick got rejected. It seemed perfectly healthy

[@konstantinepetelava1221]

1st one was biggest...

[@blessedbeauty2293]

- That is so sad, I hope you found that baby bird && saved it 😢.

[@bobbyd6680]

Ad nd what. Go and catch lizards and little chicks to feed it?

[@KerriAlle]

WHAT ARE THEY FEEDING THEM

[@princewurst]

Fascinating video. I can imagine that this strategy has evolved over 100s of millions of years and also dinosaurs did practice it. A self regulating system: Less prey? Lets produce less predators! The parents also have to survive and have better chances to reproduce next seasons.

[@kanzkitchen9703]

Why the bird rejects its hatchlings

[@BlahBohogun]

Most bird will kill and or remove smaller/weaker hatchlings to priortize the strongest and healthiest to nurture mature.

[@macplethora]

Also, it was early in the season, it got cold again, and there was a shortage of food. Most lizards hadn't come out yet.

[@johnhall3570]

I’m surprised that the parents didn’t feed that newly-hatched last chick to its much larger sibling!

[@johnhall3570]

@@BlahBohogunPlus, that nest didn’t look big enough for more than one hatchling!

[@ericaleslie257]

​@johnhall3570...****ABSOLUTELY NO FOOD TO SPARE !!!!****😊...😳😱😭💔🐣🐤/ 😳😱😭💔 🐣🐤/ 😳😱😭💔🐣🐤**** ...AND... ****ABSOLUTELY NO SPACE TO SPARE EITHER, HERE !!!!****...😳😱😭💔🐣🐤/ 😳😍🤩💔🐣🐤/ 😳🥳🤩💔🐣🐤****

[@robertecarpenter]

"Nature is red in tooth and claw" as poet Alfred Tennyson famously said. We watched in horror at High Island Texas shorebird rookery while a Snow Egret pecked and pushed a large chick down to the water's edge and fed it to an alligator! It's a symbiotic relationship there. Alligators keep raccoons and other predators away for a few juicy baby birds.

[@johndoe-bq1xt]

Why were those three rejected?????????? So, Saaaaaad!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[@markuse3472]

How far off the ground is the nest?

[@macplethora]

About 7 feet.

[@최정희-v7f]

이새의 종류는 무엇일까요 이새는 무조건 한마리만 키우는건지 궁금합니다 ~

[@steveflor9942]

At least, there was no fraticide. Usually, nature does not waste that much energy. Somewhere in Roadrunner evolution......? Ornithologists have some idea.

[@captain54526]

Roadrunners are very detrimental to small birds as there were a number of them that were fed to young roadrunner. Little quail are hunted by the more powerful roadrunner for food. Roadrunners will take care of rattlesnakes.

[@francisjimenez9404]

I don't understand why one or two of the adults took 2 ot the babies out of the nest and what happened to them?

[@doghairdontcarelindaniel7531]

Fed them to the others.

[@mikeoglen6848]

I wonder why two healthy chicks were rejected?

[@SAUDIBOY99]

Mashah Allah

[@lewisparker4488]

Any reason why the camera is not aimed correctly?

[@KikiMuda]

Suasana y asri banget...❤❤❤❤❤❤

[@cherriedement4917]

How sweet