Did you know that we have cuckoos living in El Paso?   The answer is yes and most of them can run very fast up to 20mph.  They can fly, but normally not very high, preferring to glide from a high spot.   Most of you probably guessed right, we’re talking about the Greater Roadrunner, the State Bird of New Mexico.

The Greater Roadrunner is a member of the Cuculidae, commonly called the Cuckoo Family.   There are 129 species of Cuckoo worldwide and most live in trees.  The Greater Roadrunner is an exception.   They have adapted to living mainly on the ground, but will fly up onto trees and shrubs as needed to escape their enemies and build nests.  

Many of us remember the Roadrunner cartoons and think very affectionately of them, but if you are of the small kind watch out, the Roadrunner might want to eat you.   It is true that roadrunners will catch and kill snakes including rattlesnakes, but they will also eat all kinds of other animals and some fruits.   The will eat lizards, small birds, mice, spiders, grasshoppers and almost anything small enough to catch.   One day at the Rio Grande Village Campground in Big Bend National Park we saw one catch a ground squirrel.  

Many years ago I learned how to imitate the cooing call of the Roadrunner.   Ever since that day when I see one and get close enough I will make the call and most often the Roadrunner will stop and look at me and sometimes coo back.  Male Greater Roadrunners will make a downward slurring co-coo-coo-coo-coooooo sounds so when I get one to call back I am sure he wants me to know to stay out of his territory.

We have a pair of Roadrunners living in our new Chihuahuan Desert exhibit. 

Other members of the Cuckoo Family reported in El Paso include the rarely seen Yellow-billed Cuckoo and two other rarer species way out of their home range, the Black-billed Cuckoo and the Groove-billed Ani.

Photo Credits
Cover – Mike Thompson, Wikimedia Creative Commons
Top – Andy Reago & Chrissy McClarren, Wikimedia Creative Commons
Middle – Henry T. McLin, Wikimedia Creative Commons
Bottom – Glenn Perrigo, Wikimedia Creative Commons