page_title: Greater roadrunner
section_title: Locomotion
hierarchical_section_title: Greater roadrunner / Behavior / Locomotion
caption_attribution_description: Geococcyx californianus, running. Huépac, Sonora, Mexico.
context_page_description: The greater roadrunner is a long-legged bird in the cuckoo family, Cuculidae, from the Aridoamerica region in the Southwestern United States and Mexico. The scientific name means "Californian earth-cuckoo". Along with the lesser roadrunner, it is one of two species in the genus Geococcyx. This roadrunner is also known as the chaparral cock, ground cuckoo, and snake killer.
context_section_description: The Greater Roadunner can maintain a speed of 30 km per hour over long distances. While running, it places its head and its tail parallel to the ground, and uses its tail as a rudder to help change its direction. It prefers to run in open areas, such as roads, packed trails and dry riverbeds rather than dense vegetation.
  The roadrunner less often engages in flight. It hovers from a perch, such as a tree or a human construction. More rarely, it flies short distances of 4 or 5 meters, between potential roosts.
caption: Greater roadrunner on the run
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