Introducing the Greater Roadrunner: ‘The Most Amazing Bird in the World!’

This is the Greater Roadrunner

“The most amazing bird in the World!”

Brought to you by:

“The Indian Wells Valley – Roadrunner Capital of the World”

and the Nocturnal Commission of the High Inland Terrain

In the beginning, the Greater Roadrunner spent his days hunting for bugs, lizards and snakes.

Nobody could have seen this coming. He first appeared in the spring of 2018 and immediately began building a nest in a pine tree on the side of the house. He was very friendly and curious about the house. I began feeding him nightcrawlers and enjoyed watching him beat them on a rock before eating them. It wasn’t long before he walked through the open patio door and into the kitchen!

One day he didn’t eat the worm after the typical ritual sacrifice. What could be going on? I thought it was odd and he was wagging his tail feathers back and forth like a dog wags his tail. He was happy about something.

Could it be happening?! I watched him run around the corner of the house and there she was, with that typically innocent ‘get away from me I’m not interested’ look but she couldn’t hide the grin on her beak when she saw the size of that worm, dead limp as it was!

He wags his tail feathers rapidly, obviously undeterred with a tempting, delicious, lifeless worm hanging out of his beak, so he chases her around the yard until she finally stops and they engage in fluttery mating for what seemed like a really really long time but I’m sure it was just a few minutes or so. Don’t we all think that?

It went on and on and the whole time he’s dangling the worm above her head, their wings are quivering and he’s stretching his neck and you can tell they’re reaching the glorious crescendo and then it happens!

Total bliss! He stops and looks down, she looks up, and he drops the worm into her waiting beak. She swallows the whole worm and then he runs a few circles around her singing “I feel good”!

See, we told you so. It’s all true except for the singing!

Miracles do happen, and little Roadrunners soon appeared, looking for things to eat. The proud mother Roadrunner is pictured in the upper right (2019). The three chicks were born in April 2020. As of June, momma and the young male are still hanging around. Papa and the two others have gone to other hunting grounds but we expect him to return in the fall.