Watch a Roadrunner Bob and Weave Through the Lunges of a Feisty Snake

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If you think roadrunners are just cartoon characters that say “beep beep”, think again. These birds are real, and they are fast, fearless, and as you are about to see, predators! In a viral video, we get to see a roadrunner encounter a snake in a stream and decide to investigate. What follows is a tense standoff between two predators that ends with a close call.

A Hungry Roadrunner Decides the Rat Snake Will Do

The video starts with the roadrunner poking around in the water, looking for food. It then spots a potential snack: a snake! The snake is a western rat snake, which is not venomous but can still bite. The roadrunner approaches the snake cautiously, but the snake senses danger and rears up, ready to strike.

The roadrunner isn’t intimidated by the snake’s display having full confidence in its ability to avoid a bite. It flaps its wings and bounces around the snake, looking to catch it off guard. The bird circles the wary snake, hoping to get a sneaky peck in to end it all! Eventually, the roadrunner tries to peck at the snake’s head, but the snake dodges and lunges back. The snake misses by a hair, and the roadrunner jumps back with incredible speed!

The standoff continues for several seconds, with both animals showing just how fast they are with their reflexes. The roadrunner is faster than the snake, but the snake has more reach – it’s a classic standoff. Neither one can get an advantage over the other. Finally, the roadrunner decides to end the confrontation and walks away, leaving the snake alone.

Roadrunners: Speedy and Revered!

This video shows how amazing roadrunners are. They can run up to 25 miles per hour making them one of the fastest birds on land (and apparently the dire nemesis of coyotes). Aside from their appearance, their prints can pretty easily be identified by the two toes pointing forward and two toes pointing backward, giving them X-shaped footprints.

They are omnivorous and eat anything from insects and lizards to seeds and fruits. They can even take on rattlesnakes, which they kill by dodging their strikes and grabbing them by the back of the head. The video clip doesn’t have this bird finishing off the snake, but you can see that it almost happened!

Roadrunners are pretty revered by some Native American tribes who believe they ward off evil spirits and bring good luck. With how that bird dodged the lightning-fast snake, it makes a lot of sense!

Is It Normal Behavior for a Roadrunner to Eat a Rat Snake?

Roadrunners may appear cute and harmless speeding across desert terrain, but these little creatures are opportunistic predators who will not only target small mammals, insects, and lizards–they are actually quite skilled at devouring snakes.

Western rat snakes in particular are high on the roadrunner list of prey because they are smaller in size than some other snake species, and their territory intersects that of roadrunners. So yes, it is normal behavior for a roadrunner to try and down a rat snake.