Mystery Bird: Greater Roadrunner, Geococcyx californianus

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[Mystery bird] Greater Roadrunner, Geococcyx californianus, photographed at Laguna Atascosa Wildlife Refuge, Texas. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]

Image: Joseph Kennedy, 29 March 2008 [larger view].

Nikon D200, Kowa 883 telescope with TSN-PZ camera eyepiece 1/320s f/8.0 at 1000.0mm iso400.

Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.

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Roadrunner. Field marks are the streaking, the crest, and the posture.

Roadrunner, blue around eye, lizard in mouth (not visible)

The Greater Roadrunner, Geococcyx californianus (actually a cuckoo from the family Cuculidae): head, neck, back, and wings dark brown-black and heavily streaked with white; crest of black feathers; postocular streak of bare blue (as would be legs and bill) with reddish-orange skin behind... the population from Texas south to Nuevo León and Veracruz in Mexico has been described as the subspecies dromicus

Another birdie butt -- sort of a theme related to leaving?

At least this one was pretty obvious (a roadrunner).

This is awesome. I have some shots of a roadrunner from more conventional angles, but I love this perspective. Also, I recognized it, mainly because this is usually the view I see -- only it's blurred, as the bird runs away.

You can really see their cuckoo features in the rudder tail and some in the face.