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.
Greater roadrunner
Greater roadrunner walking in the Mojave desert, California
A greater roadrunner sunbathing
Greater roadrunner on the run
Cuckoos are birds in the Cuculidae family, the sole taxon in the order Cuculiformes. The cuckoo family includes the common or European cuckoo, roadrunners, koels, malkohas, couas, coucals, and anis. The coucals and anis are sometimes separated as distinct families, the Centropodidae and Crotophagidae, respectively. The cuckoo order Cuculiformes is one of three that make up the Otidimorphae, the other two being the turacos and the bustards. The family Cuculidae contains 150 species, which are divided into 33 genera.
Cuckoo
The chestnut-breasted malkoha is typical of the Phaenicophaeinae in having brightly coloured skin around the eye.
Some species, such as the Asian emerald cuckoo (Chrysococcyx maculatus) exhibit iridescent plumage.
The great lizard cuckoo is a large, insular cuckoo of the Caribbean.
