Most people know the roadrunner because of the clever shenanigans it has devised over the years to avoid being eaten by Wile. E. Coyote. We all love a rogue and in this case the rogue is truly a cartoon character and bears little resemblance to the real Greater Roadrunner (Geococcyx califorianus). Some visitors find it hard to believe that roadrunners even exist until they see one walking across the road. Softhearted desert dwellers living in roadrunner habitat can find themselves adopted and trained to provide food at regular intervals. Come feeding hour, if you aren’t producing, they’ll peck away at the door or window till you do. If they could sigh in exasperation I am sure they would. Roadrunners get away with this bizarre behavior because their imperious antics make them seem more like feathered relatives than wild animals.

Greater Roadrunners are terrestrial members of the cuckoo family and, like all birds, they lay eggs and have feathers, even though they rarely flies. Long-legged, they often conduct their business at a rapid stride with their neck outstretched and tail cocked. Whether capturing prey, courting, or just hanging out they usually operate from the ground or at jumping height level. Their outstretched stubby wings are useful when breaking from a fast trot (they have been clocked at 18 miles per hour), in courtship displays, or as a distraction to confuse prey or predator.

Roadrunners are serious predators; their catholic diet includes: insects, lizards, snakes, rodents, baby birds, and hummingbirds—about anything that moves as long as it is not too big to swallow whole. Animals provide them not only with energy rich protein and fats but also with enough moisture to meet their water demands, even during the summer months. Roadrunners are notorious for killing and consuming rattlesnakes. Resourceful, they also eat fruit and seeds during the winter months when small animals are not available.

The habits and unique characteristics of the Greater Roadrunner are also the subject of Indian stories. Roadrunners, like woodpeckers, have two toes pointing forward and two backward (the perching bird arrangement is three forward and one backward.) According to a Piute story, the roadrunner was able to successfully steal fire by confusing pursuit with a trail that looked like it was going in both directions.

Breeding season is upon us and, if you are lucky, you will see the male parading around with his head held high and stiff with wings and tail drooped. His mating song, delivered from a high perch, is a series of low dovelike coos in a descending pitch (the opposite of a mourning dove). The stick nest is built in shrubs and cactus from 3 to 15 feet above ground. Males do much of the incubating especially at night.

Here at the 29 Palms Inn, a roadrunner is frequently seen going south, crossing the driveway in front of the library. Other than that, in our natural setting with available food, you could spot them anywhere, anytime during the day. We do not purposefully feed roadrunners or any other wildlife.