Greater roadrunner
A long-legged desert bird that would rather run than fly, chasing down lizards and snakes across the ground at Saguaro, Big Bend, and White Sands.
Greater roadrunner at a glance
Geococcyx californianus ROHD-run-er; Geococcyx californianus is jee-oh-KOK-siks kal-ih-forn-ee-AY-nus
- Type
- Bird · cuckoo
- Diet
- Carnivore
- Size
- From beak to tail a roadrunner is about 23 inches long, close to the length of a skateboard. It runs up to 20 miles an hour, about as fast as a kid on a bike.
- Lifespan
- Around 7 to 8 years in the wild.
- Conservation
- Least concern
Eats lizards, snakes, scorpions, mice, large insects, small birds
A roadrunner hunts on foot, sprinting after prey and snapping it up with its beak. It can even kill and eat rattlesnakes, and it will beat a snake against a rock before swallowing it.
Should you worry?
A roadrunner is harmless to people. It may run right up to a picnic table looking for a handout, but do not feed it. Let it hunt on its own. It does you a favor by eating scorpions and rattlesnakes.
A roadrunner is a bird that decided against flying. It has wings and can flutter a short way if it must, but it would rather run, and it is built for it: long legs, a long balancing tail, and a flat-out speed near twenty miles an hour, about as fast as a kid pedaling hard down a hill. Across the open desert at White Sands you are far more likely to see one streak past than lift off.
It hunts the same way it travels, on foot. A roadrunner sprints after a lizard, a scorpion, a mouse, and snaps it up with its beak, and it is one of the few birds that will take on a rattlesnake, beating the snake against a rock before swallowing it down. Every scorpion and snake it eats is one less near your campsite, which is a good reason to let it hunt and never hand it a snack.
Desert mornings are cold, and the roadrunner has a trick for that. It fluffs the feathers on its back to bare the black skin underneath, turns that dark patch to the sun, and warms up like a solar panel. It belongs to the cuckoo family, with two toes forward and two back on each foot, so its tracks print a neat X in the sand, and you cannot tell from the X which way the bird was going.
Did you know?
- A roadrunner can fly, but it almost never does. It would rather run, reaching about 20 miles an hour on its long legs.
- On cold desert mornings a roadrunner fluffs up the feathers on its back to show the black skin underneath, then turns that dark patch to the sun to warm up like a solar panel.
- Roadrunners are part of the cuckoo family. Each foot has two toes pointing forward and two pointing back, so their tracks look like a letter X and you cannot tell which way the bird was headed.
Common questions
How fast can a roadrunner run?
Up to about 20 miles an hour, roughly as fast as a kid pedaling hard on a bike. It runs far more than it flies.
Do roadrunners really eat rattlesnakes?
Yes. A roadrunner will grab a snake, beat it against a rock, and swallow it. It also eats lizards, scorpions, mice, and big insects.
Can roadrunners fly?
A little. They can flutter short distances, but they spend almost all their time running on the ground.
Where do roadrunners live?
In the deserts of the southwestern United States and Mexico, in open country dotted with cactus and low bushes.