Greater Roadrunner

Geococcyx californianusOrder: CUCULIFORMES Family: Cuckoos and Roadrunners (Cuculidae)

Codes: Common Name: GRRO Scientific Name: GEOCAL ITIS Taxonomic No.: 177836

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Overview

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.

Range and Habitat

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

Topo Map: Perching-like Body

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.

Bird Term Glossary

Author

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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.

Greater Roadrunner

● 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.

● 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

Perching-like Body

Crest

Tufts of feathers on the head of the bird.

Face

The front part of the head consisting of the bill, eyes, cheeks and chin.

4 and 6 letter alpha codes

The four letter common name alpha code is is derived from the first two letters of the common first name and the first two letters of common last name. The six letter species name alpha code is derived from the first three letters of the scientific name (genus) and the first three letters of the scientific name (species). See (1) below for the rules used to create the codes..

Four-letter (for English common names) and six-letter (for scientific names) species alpha codes were developed by Pyle and DeSante (2003, North American Bird-Bander 28:64-79) to reflect A.O.U. taxonomy and nomenclature (A.O.U. 1998) as modified by Supplements 42 (Auk 117:847-858, 2000) and 43 (Auk 119:897-906, 2002). The list has been updated by Pyle and DeSante to reflect changes reported by the A.O.U from 2003 through 2006.

Field Guide to Birds of North America