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Greater Roadrunner

Geococcyx californianusOrder: CUCULIFORMESFamily: Cuckoos and Roadrunners (Cuculidae)

Greater Roadrunner Portrait
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General

Greater Roadrunner: Large, ground-dwelling cuckoo with overall brown, white and buff streaked appearance. Head has a shaggy crest. Face has blue and orange bare patch of skin behind eyes. Tail is long. Sexes are similar.

Range and Habitat

Greater Roadrunner: Resident in southwest U.S. and Mexico; found in open, arid country with scattered thickets.

Listen to Call

Voice Text

"coooos"

Interesting Facts

 Roadrunners can fly, but they usually don’t. Instead, they run at speeds up to 15 mph.

 It is the state bird of New Mexico. It was adopted in 1949 under the name of “Chapparal Bird.”

 To warm up without spending a lot of energy, roadrunners erect their feathers to expose the underlying black skin to the sun’s rays.

 A group of roadrunners are collectively known as a "marathon" and a "race" of roadrunners.



Author

Gary Owen Dick

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Range Map for Greater Roadrunner
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Bird Call Credits: The Macaulay Library of Natural Sounds at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Martyn Stewart, http://www.naturesound.org, Redmond, Washington USA. The reuse or copying of bird calls in this database is strictly forbidden.
Family Roadrunners and Cuckoos (Cuculidae)_blue
Species Geococcyx californianus
Length20 - 24 Inches
Wingspan32 Inches

Greater Roadrunner

Greater Roadrunner: Large, ground-dwelling cuckoo with overall brown, white and buff streaked appearance. Head has a shaggy crest. Face has blue and orange bare patch of skin behind eyes. Tail is long. Eats insects, lizards, snakes, rodents, small birds and fruits and seeds. Can run up to 15 mph.

● Song: "coooos"

● Foraging & Feeding: Greater Roadrunner: Diet consists mainly of insects, snails, lizards, scorpions, spiders, young birds, small mammals, and in winter, plant material. Famous for its ability to prey on rattlesnakes; picks snake up by the tail and kills it by slamming the head onto the ground.

● Breeding & nesting: Greater Roadrunner: Two white to pale yellow eggs are laid in a flat stick nest lined with grass, and usually built in a thick shrub or cactus close to the ground. Eggs are incubated for 20 days mostly by the male.

● Similar species: Greater Roadrunner: None in range.

Flight Pattern

Alternates several shallow rapid wing beats with long glides.
Greater-Roadrunner Body Illustration
● Range & Habitat: Greater Roadrunner: Resident in southwest U.S. and Mexico; found in open, arid country with scattered thickets.
BreedingMonogamous, Thought to pair for life, Solitary nester
PopulationFairly common to common
MigrationNonmigratory
Weight13.2 Ounces