Greater Roadrunner

Greater Roadrunner
Greater Roadrunner in West Texas
Conservation status
Least Concern (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Cuculiformes
Family:	Cuculidae
Subfamily:	Neomorphinae
Genus:	Geococcyx
Species:	G. californianus
Binomial name
Geococcyx californianus (Lesson, 1829)
Distribution map of the Greater Roadrunner.

The Greater Roadrunner (Geococcyx californianus) is a long-legged bird in the cuckoo family, Cuculidae. It is one of the two roadrunner species in the genus Geococcyx; the other is the Lesser Roadrunner. This roadrunner is also known as the Chaparral Cock.

Description

The roadrunner is about 56 centimetres (22 in) long and weighs about 300 grams (10.5 oz), and is the largest North American cuckoo. The adult has a bushy crest and long thick dark bill. It has a long dark tail, a dark head and back, and is pale on the front of the neck and on the belly. Roadrunners have four toes on each foot; two face forward, and two face backward.

Habitat

The breeding habitat is desert and shrubby country in the southwestern United States and northern Mexico. It can be seen in the US states of California, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Nevada, Utah, Colorado, Oklahoma, Kansas, and rarely in Arkansas, Missouri, and Louisiana.

Behavior

The Greater Roadrunner nests on a platform of sticks low in a cactus or a bush and lays 3-6 eggs which hatch in 20 days. The chicks fledge in another 18 days. Pairs may occasionally rear a second brood.

This bird walks rapidly about, running down prey or occasionally jumping up to catch insects or birds. It mainly feeds on insects, small reptiles, rodents, tarantulas, scorpions and small birds, as well as fruit and seeds.

Although capable of flight, it spends most of its time on the ground, and can run at speeds of up to 20 miles per hour (32 km/h).^[2]

Popular culture

• The Greater Roadrunner is the state bird of New Mexico, USA.
• The Greater Roadrunner is the mascot of California State University, Bakersfield, College of the Desert (Palm Desert, CA), Metropolitan State College of Denver, State Fair Community College (Sedalia, Missouri), Midland College (Midland, Texas), the College of DuPage (DuPage County, Illinois) Gloucester County College, Westlake High School(Austin, TX) and the University of Texas at San Antonio.
• Some Pueblo Indian tribes, such as the Hopi, believed that the roadrunner provided protection against evil spirits.^[3]
• The Greater Roadrunner serves loosely as the basis for the character Road Runner in the Wile E. Coyote and Road Runner cartoon shorts by Chuck Jones. (Unlike the character, however, real roadrunners do not say "beep beep".)
• The Greater Roadrunner, as known by its colloquial name "Chaparral Cock", was the name given to Texan Jim Hall's series of Sports Racing Cars in the 1960s.

References

• Geococcyx californianus (TSN 177836). Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Retrieved on 9 February 2006.

External links

• Geococcyx californianus
• Roadrunner
• Stamps
• Cornell
• enature.com profile
• Greater roadrunner
• Greater Roadrunner photo gallery VIREO