Around the World in 80 Birds by Unwin Mike;Miyake Ryuto;

Author:Unwin, Mike;Miyake, Ryuto;
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Laurence King Publishing

MEXICO

Greater Roadrunner

Geococcyx californianus

For several generations of children – and, doubtless, plenty of parents – it was a Warner Brothers cartoon that put this bird on the map. Wile E. Coyote and the Road Runner, originally created by animation director Chuck Jones and writer Michael Maltese, ran from 1948 to 2014, and featured the ever more elaborate but always doomed attempts of the hapless canine to capture his fleet-footed avian quarry.

In real life, the greater roadrunner does not say ‘beep beep!’ Neither does it bear the scientific name Boulevardus burnupius. Otherwise, however, the cartoon was not so wide of the mark. This ground-dwelling relative of the cuckoos is indeed the Usain Bolt of flying birds, sometimes topping 30 kph (18 mph) as it dashes across the ground. Flying is a last resort, and those short wings are good for only a few airborne seconds at a time.

The greater roadrunner is native to the chapparal, the semi-desert scrublands that carpet much of Mexico and the southern USA. In Mexico, tradition holds that the bird was a bringer of babies, like the white stork (see here) in Europe, and indigenous Pueblo communities saw the bird as a protector against evil spirits. To ornithologists, this is the larger of two similar species that both belong to the cuckoo family (Cuculidae). It looks little like your average cuckoo, with its long legs and terrestrial habits – although, like all cuckoos, it has zygodactyl toes: that is to say, two facing forward and two back. It is some 50–60 centimetres (20–24 in) in length, its most striking features a jaunty, cocked tail and crest.

Roadrunners capture prey in lightning dashes, running with head and tail stretched out parallel to the ground. Victims range from insects and scorpions to reptiles and small mammals. The bird will even tackle small rattlesnakes, seizing the serpent by the tail and whip-cracking its head against the ground, and has reflexes fast enough to pluck a dragonfly from the air. Food goes down whole, with a length of snake sometimes left dangling from the bill as the rest is digested inside.

These birds are well adapted to their arid environment, able to reabsorb water from their faeces before excreting it, and to use special glands in front of their eyes to eliminate salt from their water intake. Deserts can also be freezing, so roadrunners sunbathe in the morning after a cold night, fluffing out their back feathers to expose the black skin underneath and absorb more solar energy.

In spring, a male courts his partner with cooing song, wagging wings and dangled food gifts. Unlike some cuckoos, roadrunners are not brood parasites but generally build their own nest in a bush or cactus. The male gathers materials while his mate focuses on construction and lays two to eight pale eggs. The youngsters fledge some 18 days after hatching but will hang around for another fortnight, cadging food.

Speed also helps roadrunners to escape danger – not just Wile E. Coyote, but a range of predators that include skunks, house cats and raptors.

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