For my project, I am exploring the relationship between animals of the Mojave and their environment. I want to show the incredible ability of these species to camouflage into their surroundings and essentially become one with the desert. For this week, I did some research on specific species that I want to utilize in my project and how they exist within their environment.
- The Ring-tailed Cat is a mammal in the raccoon family, Procyonidae. The ringtail is found in the southwestern United States in southern Oregon, California, eastern Kansas, Oklahoma, Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, southern Nevada, Utah, and Texas. It is the Arizona state mammal. Commonly found in arid, desert regions, the ringtail nests in the hollows of trees and wooden structures. The ringtail prefers habitats with water such as caves, riparian canyons, or mine shafts.
Burrowing Owls (Athene cunicularia)
- Burrowing owls are found in rangelands, grasslands, desert, agricultural areas, and any other open dry area. They are active during the day, unlike most species of owls, but they do most of their hunting at night using night vision and advanced hearing. Because the burrowing owl lives in open areas rather than forests, they have developed longer legs allowing the bird to sprint while hunting. They nest in burrows in the ground, such as those made by prairie dogs and other burrowing animals. When building their nests, the owl uses mammal dung to line it, controlling the climate inside the burrow and attracting insects for the owls to eat.
- The greater roadrunner is a bird in the Cuckoo (Cuculidae) family. It joins the lesser roadrunner in the genus Geococcyx. Scientifically the name means "Californian earth-cuckoo”. It is also referred to as the chaparral cock, ground cuckoo, and the snake killer. Found within the Aridoamerica ecoregion, the roadrunner lives in the southwestern United States and northern Mexico. The bird can be found from 60 ft below sea level to 7,500 ft above, occupying arid and semi-arid scrubland with typically less than 50% vegetation cover.
- The greater roadrunner has adapted to the dry and warm habitat through thermoregulation to reduce dehydration and overheating. When sunbathing for heat, the bird lays perpendicular to the ground, back to the sun. It spreads its wings and and ruffles the blacking feathers on its back and head, allowing the sun to be absorbed by both the bird’s skins and feathers.
- When nesting, the roadrunner chooses a spot about 3-10 feet off the ground on a branch or sturdy bush, cactus, or small tree. The nest is shady and well-concealed, made from twigs, leaves, grass, feathers, snakeskin, and horse and cattle manure.
Source List
Hughes, Janice M. (1996). Poole, A (ed.). "Greater Roadrunner (Geococcyx californianus)". The Birds of North America Online.
Levey, D.J.; Duncan, R.S.; Levins, C.F. (2004). "Use of dung as a tool by burrowing owls". Nature.
“Greater Roadrunner Life History, All About Birds, Cornell Lab of Ornithology.” All About Birds, Cornell Lab of Ornithology, https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Greater_Roadrunner/lifehistory
“Ring-Tailed Cat.” Los Padres ForestWatch, 25 Jan. 2019, lpfw.org/our-region/wildlife/ring-tailed-cat/.