Roadrunners

This denizen of the Southwestern U.S. is a cuckoo. I'm not making disparaging remarks about this delightful bird; he is in fact a member of the cuckoo family. To be more specific, the Greater Roadrunners (Geococcyx californianus) are of the genus Geococcyx, the family Cuculidae, and the order Cuculiformes. (Throw those words around at your next cocktail party!) In other words, he's a cuckoo. Only two species of cuckoo can be found in Southern California. One is the Yellow-billed Cuckoo, whose numbers were once numerous in Southern California during breeding season, but are now very rare. You probably won't see one of these. However, you will probably become very familiar with the Greater Roadrunner, especially if you live near scrub desert areas or mesquite groves. The roadrunner can also be seen in chaparral areas or brushy places. As a matter of fact, the roadrunner has been called a "chaparral cock", although he prefers a little more open space for hunting his prey.

The roadrunner is a carnivore and insectivore, consuming virtually no plant matter. His diet includes grasshoppers, large ground insects, spiders, lizards, small snakes, mice, small birds and their eggs. He swallows much of his food whole and can often be spotted beating a large lizard against a rock to soften it up for easier swallowing.

The agility of the roadrunners is phenomenal. They have been observed snatching hummingbirds out of the air and capturing rattlesnakes by the head in mid-strike! Roadrunners run more than they fly and have been clocked at 15 mph. The legs are very strong, needless to say. He is zygodacxtile, with four toes on each foot- 2 pointing forward and 2 pointing backward, forming an X. The Hopi use representations of these tracks to confuse evil spirits, as it is difficult to determine in which direction a roadrunner is headed simply from his tracks. The Tarahumara of north-central Mexico eat roadrunners in the belief that they will be endowed with the bird's speed and agility. Once persecuted because of a belief that they were responsible for a decline in gamebirds, they are now making a comeback in our area.

The roadrunner nests low to the ground, laying three to six eggs in a saucer nest. The eggs hatch at intervals and often the oldest eat all the food that the parents bring, leaving the youngest to starve.

Being gifted with remarkable sight, the roadrunner has the ability to watch two things at once. While one eye is watching a lizard, the other eye can be scoping out the movements of a threatening hawk overhead.

The voice is almost dovelike, with a series of "coo-coo's" in descending pitch, and no, the roadrunner does not say "beep, beep" as the Saturday morning cartoons would lead us to believe! He doesn't buy all of his equipment from Acme Products either.

I have a friend who first noted a roadrunner on her property when she discovered a nest in an old boot left atop a stereo speaker outside her horse barn. Amazed that the roadrunner had such an unusual nesting site, my friend watched their every movement and was fortunate enough to observe two youngsters grow, fledge and finally leave home for good. The following year, only one of the adults was seen, as apparently something had happened to one of the pair. Wile E. Coyote, perhaps? Nevertheless, during that year and for two years following, my friend was seriously wooed by the remaining roadrunner. He continuously captured lizards and attempted to bring them to my friend via her sliding glass door. The misguided roadrunner would pace back and forth, lizard in hand (mouth, rather) trying to find a way to reach my friend inside the house. Although single, my friend could never find it within herself to accept the gifts offered by this charming suitor. He finally gave up this courtship routine and found another mate in the third year.

The Greater Roadrunner is a great symbol of the American Southwest and is, in fact, the Arizona state bird. His ability to thrive in desert conditions, and his marvelous personality, courage and perseverance warrant our respect.

At our center, the few roadrunners we see are either hit by cars, or youngsters orphaned somehow. Fortunately, because of their spirit and strength, most of the injured adults survive, recuperate from their injuries and are released back within their home range. The orphaned babies do well also, although great care must be taken to insure that they receive the proper nutrition, as this species is prone to metabolic bone disease.

Quite a few people delight in having roadrunners on their property. To encourage roadrunners to stay, folks often offer hamburger meatballs as an enticement. This practice is okay for a fully-developed adult who can augment his diet with freshly caught "wild food". However, it can be devastating to youngsters if the hamburger dependent adult takes these meatballs to her nest to feed her young. A whole body animal is necessary for proper development of the bones of the youngsters. If you feed the roadrunners, ease up on the hamburger during the spring and summer, so that the adults will be forced into taking only the natural foods to their babies, rather than the ground meat.

For the roadrunners, and all our native species, it's wise not to let them become dependent on humans for food. All of our wild species fare far better without human interference into their natural world.

— Cindy Traisi