Greater+Road+Runner

= Reymond Road Runner writing =

== = Eggs = ||  || == = Nest = ||  || == = Habitat = ||  ||
 * = =Size= || =20 inches= ||
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 * =Location= ||




 * The Greater Roadrunner is a signature bird of the desert Southwest. During the 20th century, its range expanded all the way to southern Missouri and western Louisiana. A ground-dwelling cuckoo, it feeds on snakes, scorpions, and any other small animal it can catch and subdue. Credit - the Cornell Lab of Ornithology
 * =[|Cornell Lab of Ornithology - with sound and video]=

The roadrunner is about 52–62 cm (20–24 in) long, has a 43–61 cm (17–24 in) wingspan and weighs 221–538 g (7.8–19.0 oz). It stands around 25–30 cm (9.8–12 in) tall and is the largest North American cuckoo.[|[][|4][|]][|[][|5][|]][|[][|6][|]] The adult has a bushy crest and long thick dark bill. It has a long dark tail, a dark head and back, and is blue on the front of the neck and on the belly. Roadrunners have four toes on each [|zygodactyl] foot; two face forward, and two face backward. The name roadrunner comes from the bird's habit of racing down roads in front of moving vehicles and then darting to safety in the brush.
 * =[|From Wikipedia:]=

The Greater Roadrunner nests on a platform of sticks low in a [|cactus] or a bush and lays 3–6 eggs, which hatch in 20 days. The chicks fledge in another 18 days. Pairs may occasionally rear a second brood. ||  ||   ||   || This [|bird] walks around rapidly, running down prey. It mainly feeds on insects, fruit and seeds with the addition of small [|reptiles], including [|snakes], small [|mammals], [|spiders], [|scorpions], [|centipedes], [|millipedes], small birds, their eggs, and carrion, including roadkills. It kills larger prey with a blow from the beak—hitting the base of the neck of small mammals—or by holding it in the beak and beating it against a rock. Two roadrunners sometimes attack a relatively big snake cooperatively. Although capable of weak flight, it spends most of its time on the ground, and can run at speeds of up to 26 miles per hour (42 km/h).[|[][|8][|]] This is the fastest running speed ever clocked for flying birds, although it is not nearly as fast as the flightless [|Ostrich].[|[][|9][|]]

Greater Roadrunners measure 61 cm (2 feet) in length, about half of which is tail. They have long, wobbly legs and a slender, pointed bill. The upper body is mostly brown with black streaks and sometimes pink spots. The neck and upper breast are white or pale brown with dark brown streaks, and the belly is white. A crest of brown feathers sticks up on the head, and a bare patch of orange and blue skin lies behind each eye;[|[][|8][|]] the blue is replaced by white in adult males (except the blue adjacent to the eye), and the orange (to the rear) ||  ||
 * [[image:http://images.northrup.org/picture/xl/roadrunner/roadrunner-closeup.jpg width="400" height="309" caption="Photo by Tony Northrup http://www.northrup.org/"]] ||  ||   ||   || [[image:http://images.northrup.org/picture/xl/roadrunner/road-runner.jpg width="480" height="324" caption="Photo by Tony Northrup http://www.northrup.org/ used with permission"]] ||   ||
 * =More Information= ||  ||   ||   ||   ||   ||