Target folder // GREROA
Greater Roadrunner
Geococcyx californianus · Cuculidae (cuckoos and roadrunners)
Fast, curious, and unmistakable. In hot weather it is most active from sunrise to mid-morning and again late in the day, and rests in the shade at midday. Scan open ground and trail edges then.
ID Features
- Large, long-legged ground bird, about 20–24 inches long, much of it tail. The largest cuckoo in the Americas.
- Brown upperparts heavily streaked with black and buff; pale, streaked neck and breast; white belly.
- Shaggy crest, often raised, and a bare patch of blue and orange skin behind the eye.
- Long, stout bill with a hooked tip.
- Usually seen running, head and tail held level with the ground. It flies only short distances.
Signals
- songA slow, descending series of about six low, dove-like coos, often given early in the morning from a fence post, dead tree, or cactus. Listen (xeno-canto XC809007)
- otherA dry rattle made by clattering the bill. Listen (xeno-canto XC815026)
More recordings: xeno-canto · Macaulay Library
Where and When
- Clark County, NV
- Year-round residentOpen desert scrub with scattered shrubs, dry washes, and open trails, where it hunts on the ground.Source: Clark County Wetlands Park bird list (Clark County Parks and Recreation, rev. March 2019): resident, common, nests here. Status from one park's list, not survey data. For week-by-week detail, see eBird's Clark County bar chart.