Road-runner 217 
Road-runner. Gleococcyx californianus. 
A.O.U. Checklist no 385—Colorado Records—Aiken 72, p. 206; 
Coues 73, p. 751 ; Henshaw 75, p. 383 ; Goss 78, p. 114; Drew 85, p. 17 ; 
Beckham 85, p. 143 ; Morrison, 88, p.17; 89, p. 67; Lowe 94, p. 268 ; 
Cooke 97, pp. 81, 207; Warren 06, p. 20; Cary 09, p. 181; Felger 
10, p. 89. 
Description.—Above a metallic bronze, becoming steely-blue on the 
neck and head ; all the feathers edged with white or tawny-white, pro- 
ducing a streaked appearance; head strongly crested; wing more 
greenish; tail very strongly graduated; the three outer pairs of 
feathers steely-blue with a terminal band of white ; below dull whitish, 
the feathers of the fore-neck and throat with dusky centres edged with 
tawny ; iris red, bill and legs dark horny, a bare space round the eye 
pale fleshy, eyelids blue. Length 20-5; wing 7-75; tail 12-0; culmen 
2-1; tarsus 2-4. 
The sexes are alike, and the young bird is very similar—iridescent 
from the first, but with more white and less tawny. 
Distribution.— South-west United States, from, California and Colorado 
south to Mexico, east to south-west Kansas and Oklahoma. 
The Road-runner is a fairly common resident in Colorado along and 
south of the Arkansas Valley. North of this it is rare, but has been met 
with on several occasions in El Paso co., by Aiken and, others, while 
Cooke states that Carter once observed it at Littleton just south of 
Denver, and Felger has recently recorded it from Denver itself; this is 
the most northern record. Others are: Las Animas (Goss), Fort Lyon 
(Coues), Gaume’s Ranche (Warren and Cary), Wet Mountains at 8,000 
feet (Lowe), Trinchera (Brunner) and La Plata co. (Morrison). It 
keeps chiefly to the lower altitudes of the cedar and pifion zone, and 
has not been met with above 8,000 feet (Lowe). 
Habits.—This ground-loving Cuckoo, often known as 
the Chaparral Cock and by the Mexicans as the Paisano, 
is a bird of remarkable aspect, and reminds one more of 
a small hen Pheasant than of a Cuckoo. It is thoroughly 
terrestrial and a great runner, and is said to be able 
to outstrip a galloping horse, aided by its wings out- 
stretched as supporters. It also flies well. 
The Road-runner is rather unsocial, and only one 
or two are to be met with together ; it prefers bushy 
hill-sides and scrub-oak, seldom or never entering pine 
woods. Its note is compared by Bendire to the cooing 
