One of the iconic birds of the American West is the Greater Roadrunner, a fleet-footed, long-tailed sprinter of a bird. A member of the cuckoo family, these birds are high on the wish list for visiting birders and Historic Canoa Ranch is a great spot to see them.

These birds are unmistakable if one gets a good view. They generally appear to be brown with white streaks, but in good light, the brown magically transforms into green, copper, and violet. This transformation is caused by the structure of the feathers, producing iridescence. The tail is long and dark, with white tips to the outer four pairs of feathers. The wings are short for the size of the bird and dark in tone. There is a patch of bare skin behind the eye, which is orange and blue.

A close cousin, the Lesser Roadrunner, is found in arid regions of Mesoamerica, from southern Sonora to Nicaragua and the Yucatan Peninsula. It differs in being smaller (about 18 inches), with a smaller bill, and buffier on the underparts.

Greater Roadrunners are adept predators, feeding on large insects, lizards, snakes (including rattlesnakes), small mammals, and birds. They can be mobbed by other birds due to this predatory nature. Lizards are the dominant item fed to nestlings. 

As the name suggests, these birds are swift runners, capable of reaching up to 15 miles per hour. While they are fully able to fly, Greater Roadrunners prefer to run from danger, only taking wing as a last resort. While Warner Brothers would lead us to believe that these birds utter "meep meep" calls, they actually make cooing sounds reminiscent of a dove’s call.

Greater Roadrunners are assuredly more common than sightings would suggest. They are well-camouflaged among vegetation when standing still, and tend to flee when they sense a person approaching. But an early morning walk around Historic Canoa Ranch may well result in a sighting of one of these fascinating birds.

Last Month’s Trivia Question: Lucy’s Warbler is one of only two cavity-nesting members of the warbler family. What is the other?

Answer: In addition to Lucy’s Warbler, the only other cavity-nesting warbler is Prothonotary Warbler, a denizen of swamps and riparian forests of the eastern U.S.

This Month’s Trivia Question: What other cuckoo species has been recorded at Historic Canoa Ranch?

It's easy to forget, but for most of Historic Canoa Ranch's long history, the people who lived there had no internet, no smartphones, no iPads, and even no television. When they wanted to entertain themselves in the evenings, one of the best options was to pick up a book. It's fun to imagine them reading late into the night, perhaps by oil lamp or even candlelight. 

Thus, when you take a tour of Historic Canoa Ranch, you'll notice that almost every building has a vintage bookcase like this one -- and often more than one! The books range from studies of Arizona plant life to classic Westerns by authors like Zane Grey. 

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