What is a Greater Roadrunner

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What is a Greater Roadrunner

Below is a transcription of the above sign found at the Valley of Fire Visitor Center.

Greater Roadrunner – Geococcyx californianus

HABITAT

Creosote Bush Scrub to open Pinyon-Jupiter Woodland

SIZE/DESCRIPTION

Slender bird, 20 to 24 inches (61 cm) long.

Crested head with a long, heavy bill.

Runs very rapidly on the ground or makes great leaps and bounds but only low, short bursts of flight.

Color: dark brown, heavily streaked with black and white; light brown underside, with brown streaks on breast.

FOOD

Lizards (80% of diet), insects, snakes, baby birds, and rats.

RANGE

Throughout the southwestern United States to Mexico.

ADAPTATION FOR SURVIVAL

Colorings aids in absorbing heat during winter, conserving bird’s energy resources when food is scarce.

Breeds in spring, when supply of prey becomes adequate.

Carnivorous diet supplies moisture, and can reabsorb water from feces before excreting.

Nasal gland removes excess salt from water produced in this process.

COMMENTS

Can run up to 18 mph (30 km/h).

Will attack, kill and eat small rattlesnakes, but it is not immune to their poison, so must hunt carefully.

The roadrunner’s comical gait, its erectile crest and perky tail movements combine to make this bird a humourous desert character whose antics entertain in film cartoons as well as in the wild.

What is a Greater Roadrunner