---
title: "What the sources say about the Greater Roadrunner | AnimalTracks.wiki"
description: "48 claims from the Greater Roadrunner profile, each beside the words of the source that backs it."
image: "https://animaltracks.wiki/images/animals/greater-roadrunner-1.webp"
canonical: "https://animaltracks.wiki/animals/greater-roadrunner/sources/"
---

# What the sources say about the Greater Roadrunner (*Geococcyx californianus*)

> 48 claims from the Greater Roadrunner profile, each beside the words of the source that backs it. A "..." marks a cut in a quote and [brackets] an insertion.

Profile: [Greater Roadrunner](https://animaltracks.wiki/animals/greater-roadrunner/)

## Geococcyx californianus (greater roadrunner). Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan.

https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Geococcyx_californianus/

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| Mostly a bird of the southwestern United States | Greater roadrunners are primarily a species of the southwestern United States |
| is a member of the cuckoo family that would rather run than fly | Family Cuculidae cuckoos, roadrunners, and relatives (note: "would rather run than fly" is the Behavior section: "they prefer to walk or run and will fly only when absolutely necessary".) |
| It weighs 227 to 341 grams (0.5 to 0.75 lb) | Greater roadrunners are medium-sized birds, weighing 227 to 341 g. (note: 0.5 to 0.75 lb is a unit conversion of 227 to 341 g.) |
| stands about 25 to 30 cm (10 to 12 in) tall | the height is between 25 and 30 cm (note: 10 to 12 in is a unit conversion of 25 to 30 cm.) |
| with a wingspan of 43 to 61 cm | Greater roadrunners have a wingspan of 43 to 61 cm. |
| It ranges from California, Nevada and Utah east to Kansas, Arkansas and Louisiana, and south into Mexico | They occur in California, Arizona, Nevada, Utah, Colorado, Texas, New Mexico, Kansas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, and Arkansas. Their range continues into southern Mexico |
| favoring arid desert with scattered brush for cover and open grassy areas for foraging | This species prefers arid deserts and other regions with a mix of scattered brush for cover and open grassy areas for foraging. |
| It will fly only when it absolutely has to, and even then it stays airborne for only a few seconds | they prefer to walk or run and will fly only when absolutely necessary. Even then, they can only remain airborne for a few seconds. |
| using its long tail for steering, braking, and balance | The long tail is used for steering, braking, and balancing. |
| coyotes, hawks, house cats, skunks and raccoons prey on it, and it relies largely on its swiftness to outrun them | Hawks, house cats, skunks, coyotes, and raccoons prey upon greater roadrunners. Coyotes also eat their eggs. This species relies largely on its swiftness to outrun predators. |
| large insects, scorpions, tarantulas, centipedes, lizards, snakes, and mice | They eat large insects, scorpions, tarantulas, centipedes, lizards, snakes, and mice. |
| plus birds and eggs | Animal Foods
birds
mammals
reptiles
eggs
insects (note: ADW's structured Animal Foods list for this species includes birds and eggs.) |
| it also feeds on prickly pear cactus where it's available | They feed on prickly pear cactus where available. |
| Rattlesnakes have been known to end up on the menu too, although this is rare | They have even been known to eat rattlesnakes, although this is rare. |
| the bird walks fast, scanning for prey, then dashes forward to make the catch, sometimes jumping into the air to snatch a passing insect | When hunting they walk rapidly, scanning for prey, and then dash forward to make the catch. They may also jump into the air to catch passing insects. |
| To kill something like a rodent, it smashes the prey's body and head against a rock and then swallows it whole | To kill small creatures such as rodents, greater roadrunners smash the prey's body and head against a rock and then swallow it whole. |
| At night it enters hypothermia to conserve energy | entering hypothermia at night to conserve energy |
| In the morning and on cooler days, it positions its scapular feathers so the black skin underneath can absorb sunlight and warm the body | In the morning and on cooler days, they position their scapular feathers so the black skin on the dorsal apteria can absorb the sunlight and warm the body. |
| one way the bird copes is by cutting its activity by 50% | One way they do so is by reducing their activity by 50% in the heat of midday. |
| A crest of black feathers rises and falls at will | A particularly notable feature is the crest of black feathers, which is raised or lowered at will. |
| a bare streak of blue and red skin runs behind each eye | there is a postocular streak of bare blue and red skin |
| Rattlesnakes are known from its diet, but Animal Diversity Web calls them a rare meal | They have even been known to eat rattlesnakes, although this is rare. (note: "Known from its diet" keeps the source's "known to".) |
| Its regular menu runs from large insects, scorpions and tarantulas to lizards, other snakes and mice | They eat large insects, scorpions, tarantulas, centipedes, lizards, snakes, and mice. |
| it kills small prey such as rodents by smashing them against a rock | To kill small creatures such as rodents, greater roadrunners smash the prey's body and head against a rock and then swallow it whole. |
| smashes prey against rocks, and warms up by sunbathing the black skin on its back | In the morning and on cooler days, they position their scapular feathers so the black skin on the dorsal apteria can absorb the sunlight and warm the body. (note: Smashing prey: "smash the prey's body and head against a rock". Cuckoo: Family Cuculidae.) |
| Arid deserts, chaparral, and scrub across the American Southwest and into Mexico, with grassland at the edges of its range | This species prefers arid deserts and other regions with a mix of scattered brush for cover and open grassy areas for foraging. For breeding, they require coastal sage scrub or chaparral habitat. In the outer limits of their range they may be found in grasslands (note: Southwest into Mexico: "primarily a species of the southwestern United States" and "Their range continues into southern Mexico". "Scrub" is ADW's "coastal sage scrub" and its biome list ("scrub forest").) |
| Insects, scorpions, tarantulas, lizards, snakes (rarely rattlesnakes), rodents, birds, and prickly pear cactus | They eat large insects, scorpions, tarantulas, centipedes, lizards, snakes, and mice. They have even been known to eat rattlesnakes, although this is rare. Greater roadrunners are potential predators of quail, adult sparrows, hummingbirds (note: Prickly pear: "They feed on prickly pear cactus where available." Rodents: "small creatures such as rodents". Birds are stated flatly in ADW's Animal Foods list ("birds mammals reptiles eggs insects") and in Birds of the World's prey list, so "potential" does not hedge the diet.) |
| dangerLevel: Low | There are no known adverse affects of Geococcyx californianus on humans. |
| weightKg: 0.28 | weighing 227 to 341 g (note: 0.28 kg is the midpoint of the ADW range, used for the battle weight class (Light either way).) |
| steering and braking with its long tail | The long tail is used for steering, braking, and balancing. |

## Greater Roadrunner. White Sands National Park, National Park Service.

https://www.nps.gov/whsa/learn/nature/roadrunner.htm

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| grows up to 58 cm (23 in) long | Both grow up to 23 inches in length (note: 58 cm is a unit conversion of 23 in. NPS (updated 2020) replaces ADW's 50 to 62 cm (2005): the current institution page wins.) |
| It can hit speeds of up to 20 miles per hour | roadrunners love to run and can reach speeds of up to 20 miles per hour |
| The roadrunner eats pretty much anything it can catch | They will eat carrion as well as pretty much anything they can catch |
| Its feet have two toes pointing forward and two pointing back, which leaves a distinctive X-shaped track | big feet with four toes—two pointing forward and two pointing backward. This gives them a rather distinctive X-shaped footprint. |
| roadrunners are often mistaken for mourning doves, because of their cooing call, usually six to eight coos that drop in pitch | Roadrunners are often mistaken for mourning doves due to their cooing call.The call is usually six to eight "coos" long and descends in pitch with each "coo." |
| It can reach speeds of up to 20 miles per hour on the ground. It can fly for short distances, but it prefers to remain on the ground, where it hunts for prey. | roadrunners love to run and can reach speeds of up to 20 miles per hour. They can fly for short distances but prefer to remain on the ground where they hunt for prey. |
| Ground-running desert cuckoo that hits up to 20 miles per hour | roadrunners love to run and can reach speeds of up to 20 miles per hour |
| Runs at up to 20 mph | roadrunners love to run and can reach speeds of up to 20 miles per hour |
| sprints at up to 20 miles per hour | can reach speeds of up to 20 miles per hour |

## Hughes (2020). Greater Roadrunner (Geococcyx californianus). Birds of the World, Cornell Lab of Ornithology.

https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.greroa.01

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| Birds of the World adds that it beats snakes and other prey repeatedly against a hard surface before eating them | it feeds on snakes, lizards, spiders, scorpions, insects, birds, rodents, and bats, which it beats repeatedly against a hard substrate before consuming |

## Ohmart & Lasiewski (1971). Roadrunners: Energy Conservation by Hypothermia and Absorption of Sunlight. Science.

https://doi.org/10.1126/science.172.3978.67

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| Under artificial sunlight, sunning roadrunners kept a normal resting metabolism at air temperatures as low as 9°C | Roadrunners sunning in artificial sunlight consume oxygen at standard (basal) levels at ambient temperatures as low as 9.0 degrees C. |
| Basking saved them an average of 551 calories an hour, where a calorie is the small unit scientists use: about half of one food Calorie | Energy savings of sunning roadrunners averaged 551 calories per hour. (note: 551 cal = 0.551 kcal (food Calories). The unit must be the small calorie: ADW/AnAge give a basal metabolic rate of 1.4661 W, about 1,260 cal an hour, so 551 kcal an hour (about 640 W) is impossible for a 300 g bird.) |
| In the dark it may let its body temperature drop into hypothermia, then warm back to normal by sunning itself, at a reduced energy cost | In the dark, birds may undergo hypothermia. Hypothermic roadrunners can elevate their body temperatures to normal levels by sunning, at reduced metabolic cost. |
| Under artificial sunlight, basking birds kept a normal resting metabolism in air as cold as 9°C and saved an average of 551 calories an hour, which is about half of one food Calorie | Roadrunners sunning in artificial sunlight consume oxygen at standard (basal) levels at ambient temperatures as low as 9.0 degrees C. Energy savings of sunning roadrunners averaged 551 calories per hour. (note: 551 cal = 0.551 kcal; see the body claim for why the unit is the small calorie.) |
| smashes prey against rocks, and saves energy by basking black skin on its back in the sun | Energy savings of sunning roadrunners averaged 551 calories per hour. (note: Black skin on the back: ADW "black skin on the dorsal apteria".) |

## Geococcyx californianus. AnAge: The Animal Ageing and Longevity Database, Human Ageing Genomic Resources.

https://genomics.senescence.info/species/entry.php?species=Geococcyx_californianus

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| The oldest banded wild bird recovered was 7 years old | Oldest banded individual recovered was 7 years old. (note: Replaces ADW's "7 to 8 years", which exceeds the banding record and sits beside ADW's own wild average of 45 months.) |
| Bird banding has recovered a wild roadrunner at 7 years old, the oldest banded bird recovered, and one bird lived 9 years in captivity | Oldest banded individual recovered was 7 years old. One specimen lived 9 years in captivity |

## Geococcyx californianus. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2022: e.T22684458A152321922.

https://doi.org/10.2305/iucn.uk.2022-2.rlts.t22684458a152321922.en

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| Least Concern | IUCN Red List category: Least Concern (LC). |