- Geococcyx velox
Identification
48cm. A crested and long-tailed Ground Cuckoo.
- Streaked brown above
- Buff underparts with sides of neck and breast streaked
- Tan undertail-coverts, darker than belly
- Blue bare skin behind eye, extending back to red patch
- Yellow to brown eye
Sexes similar. Juveniles have buff feather tips above and dark spots (instead of streaks) on breast.
Distribution
Found in western and southern Mexico and from Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras to central Nicaragua.
Fairly common in its range.
Taxonomy
This is a monotypic species.
Habitat
Lives in arid lowland and montane scrub, in dry open country with scattered brush, thorn scrub, grassy and lightly wooded hillsides and farmland.
From sea-level up to 2800 m, sometimes up to 3000m.
Behaviour
Diet
Feeds on insects, mainly grasshoppers and caterpillars. Foraging behaviour like Greater Roadrunner.
Breeding
Breeding season in April (Veracruz), May to July (Oaxaca), April to May in Guatemala and August in El Salvador. The nest is a bulky stick platform placed in a bushy tree, a thorn bush or in the centre of a cactus thicket. Lays 2 to 3, sometimes 4 eggs.
Movements
A resident species.
References
- Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, B.L. Sullivan, C. L. Wood, and D. Roberson. 2013. The eBird/Clements checklist of birds of the world: Version 6.8., with updates to August 2013. Downloaded from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
- Del Hoyo, J, A Elliot, and J Sargatal, eds. 1997. Handbook of the Birds of the World. Volume 4: Sandgrouse to Cuckoos. Barcelona: Lynx Edicions. ISBN 978-8487334221
Recommended Citation
- BirdForum Opus contributors. (2025) Lesser Roadrunner. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 12 May 2025 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Lesser_Roadrunner
