Roadrunner

Roadrunner
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Cuculiformes
Family:	Cuculidae
Subfamily:	Neomorphinae
Genus:	Geococcyx Wagler, 1831
Type species
Geococcyx variegata[1] Wagler, 1831
Species
G. californianus G. velox

The roadrunners (genus Geococcyx), also known as chaparral birds or chaparral cocks, are two species of fast-running ground cuckoos with long tails and crests. They are found in the southwestern and south-central United States, Mexico and Central America,^[2][3] usually in the desert. Although capable of flight, roadrunners generally run away from predators. On the ground, some have been clocked at 32 km/h (20 mph).

Species

The subfamily Neomorphinae, the New World ground cuckoos, includes 11 species of birds,^[4] while the genus Geococcyx has just two:^[5]

Genus Geococcyx – Wagler, 1831 – two species

Common name	Scientific name and subspecies	Range	Size and ecology	IUCN status and estimated population
greater roadrunner	Geococcyx californianus (Lesson, 1829)	Mexico and the southwestern and south-central United States[6]	Size: Habitat: Diet:	LC
Lesser roadrunner	Geococcyx velox (Wagner, 1836)	Mexico and Central America[7]	Size: Habitat: Diet:	LC

Morphology

The roadrunner generally ranges in size from 56 to 61 cm (22 to 24 in) from tail to beak. The average weight is about 230–430 g (8–15 oz).^[8] The roadrunner is a large, slender, black-brown and white-streaked ground bird with a distinctive head crest. It has long legs, strong feet, and an oversized dark bill. The tail is broad with white tips on the three outer tail feathers. The bird has a bare patch of skin behind each eye; this patch is shaded blue anterior to red posterior. The lesser roadrunner is slightly smaller, not as streaky, and has a smaller bill. Both the lesser roadrunner and the greater roadrunner leave behind very distinct "X" track marks appearing as if they are travelling in both directions.^[9]

Roadrunners and other members of the cuckoo family have

Vocalization

The roadrunner has a slow and descending dove-like "coo". It also makes a rapid, vocalized clattering sound with its beak.^[12]

Geographic range

Roadrunners inhabit the

The roadrunner is an opportunistic

The roadrunner usually lives alone or in pairs. Breeding pairs are monogamous and mate for life,

The roadrunner's nest is often composed of sticks, and may sometimes contain leaves, feathers, snakeskins, or dung.^[18] It is commonly placed 1 to 3 meters (3 to 10 feet) above ground level^[19] in a low tree, bush, or cactus. Roadrunner eggs are generally white. The greater roadrunner generally lays 2–6 eggs per clutch, but the lesser roadrunner's clutches are typically smaller. Hatching is asynchronous. Both sexes incubate the nest (with males incubating the nest at night) and feed the hatchlings. For the first one to two weeks after the young hatch, one parent remains at the nest. The young leave the nest at two to three weeks old, foraging with parents for a few days after.^[13]

Thermoregulation

During the cold desert night, the roadrunner lowers its body temperature slightly, going into a slight torpor to conserve energy. To warm itself during the day, the roadrunner exposes dark patches of skin on its back to the sun.^[13]

Indigenous lore

The

Central American Indigenous peoples have various beliefs about the roadrunner. The Ch’orti’, known to call it t’unk’u’x or mu’, have taboos against harming the bird.^[21] The Ch'ol Maya believe roadrunners possess special powers, calling it ajkumtz’u’ due to its call, which is believed to induce tiredness in listeners.^[22]

The word for roadrunner in the

The roadrunner is the state bird of New Mexico.[25] The roadrunner was made popular by the Warner Bros. cartoon characters Wile E. Coyote and the Road Runner, created in 1949, and the subject of a long-running series of theatrical cartoon shorts. In each episode, the cunning, insidious, and constantly hungry Wile E. Coyote repeatedly attempts to catch and subsequently eat the Road Runner, but is never successful. The cartoons led to a misconception that roadrunners say "meep, meep" because the roadrunner in this cartoon series made that sound instead of the aforementioned sound of a real roadrunner. In some shorts, the Road Runner makes a noise while sticking his tongue out at Wile E. Coyote, which resembles its actual call. The cartoons rely on a misconception that a roadrunner is much faster than a coyote. In fact, a coyote's fastest sprinting speed is 64 km/h (40 mph),^[26] which is twice that of a roadrunner's at 32 km/h (20 mph).^[10]

Citations

General references

• Alsop, Fred J. III (2002). Birds of North America (1st American ed.). New York: DK.
  ISBN 0-7894-8001-8
  .
• del Hoyo, Josep; Baptista, Luis, eds. (1997). Sandgrouse to cuckoos. Barcelona: Lynx Ed.
  ISBN 84-87334-22-9
  .
• Harrison, George (2005). "Comical Cuckoo". Birder's World. 19: 56–58.
• Hutchins, Michael, ed. (2003). Grzimek's Animal Life Encyclopedia (2nd ed.). Detroit: Gale.
  ISBN 0-7876-5785-9
  .
• Meinzer, Wyman (1993). "Beep! Beep! Better pull over, folks – it's the roadrunner". Smithsonian. 23: 58.
• Perrins, Christopher M., ed. (1990). The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Birds: The Definitive Reference to Birds of The World (1st Prentice Hall Press ed.). New York: Prentice Hall Editions.
  ISBN 0-13-083635-4
  .
• National Geographic Society (2002). Field Guide to the Birds of North America (4th ed.). Washington D.C.: National Geographic. p. 244.
  ISBN 0792268776
  .
• Wetmore, Alexander; Kellog, Peter Paul (1965). Water, Prey, and Game Birds of North America. Washington D.C.: National Geographic Society.

Further reading

• Whitson, Martha A. (May 1983). "The Roadrunner: Clown of the Desert".
  OCLC 643483454
  .

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Geococcyx.

Look up roadrunner in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

• Distribution map of the Greater Roadrunner
• Greater Roadrunner sounds
• Video clips of roadrunners in action
• [1]