Roadrunners are fun, quirky birds that are easy to recognize thanks to their long tails, swift legs, speckled plumage, jaunty crests and bold, curious attitudes.
Roadrunners lose to coyotes in a foot race
The roadrunner has been clocked at speeds up to 20 miles per hour. That’s amazingly fast for a 2-foot long bird, But the famed enemy of the roadrunner, the coyote, can run much faster.
Roadrunners eat rattlesnakes
The greater roadrunner is known by a few names, including the chaparral cock and the snake killer. It earns this second name for its preference for rattlesnake meat as a snack.
Roadrunners never need to drink water
These desert birds are so well adapted to their environment that they have no need to drink water. They get all the moisture they need from their diet, which consists of grasshoppers, beetles and other insects, spiders, small mammals and reptiles, scorpions, snails, fruits and seeds, and even other small birds and eggs.
Roadrunners enjoy perching high to sunbathe.
A roadrunner nest is made of anything the male can find such as sticks, snakeskin, and leaves.
The roadrunner is the state bird of New Mexico
A roadrunner may produce two clutches a year. This is more common in rainy years.
Roadrunners have yellow eyes.
The roadrunner does not migrate.
Roadrunners can make about 7 different calls.