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Project Noah Nature School
Geococcyx californianus
The greater roadrunner is about 56 cm (22 inches) long with a dark bill, crest, mottled brown/black feathers with white trim on top and white below. The tail is long, which aids the bird in balance when running after prey.
Found in arid regions in the US southwest and northern Mexico.
Spotted on Feb 23, 2005
Submitted on May 31, 2011
5 Comments
Peep peep!
I forgot to update the spotting date, which was February 23, 2005. As a result, this isn't a young bird. If I remember correctly, it was a very cold morning and I'm thinking that maybe he was just sitting there sunning and soaking up some heat or may have just fluffed his feathers against the cold. At any rate, I took a bunch of photos of him, but pitched most of them except those in this sequence as those other photos were taken under less than optimal conditions.
Watching them can be a brutal lesson in nature. They are very efficient hunters. This one looks odd, or young compared to the ones ive seen. Maybe he was bathing. Would love to see some more of the shots you took.
Thanks Alice.... This guy was quite the model and hung around for about five minutes while I snapped photos. This is the only roadrunner I've ever photographed, but would love to go back to Bosque for several days just to photograph the life there. Very cool place!
Good shot, Gordan!