Greater Roadrunner
Greater Roadrunner has held roughly steady: up 7% on the route-weighted index since 1969.
About the Greater Roadrunner
The Greater Roadrunner (Geococcyx californianus) is a North American member of the Cuckoos, Roadrunners & Anis (Cuculidae). In this analysis it is grouped with the arid-land birds.
- Size
- 10.5–22 in long (27–56 cm) — a slender, long-tailed bird (typical for the family)
- Habitat
- Deserts, dry scrub and brushland of the Southwest.
- Diet
- Seeds, insects and cactus fruit of arid-land plants.
- Range
- Recorded on 568 Breeding Bird Survey routes across 12 states, most concentrated in the Sonoran and Mojave Deserts.
- Family
- Cuculidae · Arid-land birds
Notable Greater Roadrunner Trends
No notable trend signals for Greater Roadrunner. See the full index history below.
Greater Roadrunner Population Forecast
If the recent trend holds, Greater Roadrunner is projected to rise about 26% by 2029 — from 0.10 in 2024 to a central estimate of 0.13 (95% range 0.07–0.19). A 5-year backtest shows a typical error of ±45.1%, with 80% of held-out values landing inside the 95% band.
| Year | Projected index | 95% low | 95% high |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 0.13 | 0.07 | 0.18 |
| 2026 | 0.13 | 0.07 | 0.18 |
| 2027 | 0.13 | 0.07 | 0.18 |
| 2028 | 0.13 | 0.07 | 0.18 |
| 2029 | 0.13 | 0.07 | 0.19 |
Where the Greater Roadrunner Is Detected
BBS routes recording Greater Roadrunner, sized by most recent count.
Greater Roadrunner Population Trend by State
| Arizona | -40% | 1970 | 61 |
| Arkansas | +96% | 1970 | 30 |
| California | -80% | 1970 | 96 |
| Colorado | -76% | 1992 | 12 |
| Kansas | -9% | 1979 | 7 |
| Louisiana | -63% | 1969 | 20 |
| Missouri | -57% | 1975 | 9 |
| Nevada | -7% | 1994 | 6 |
| New Mexico | +129% | 1970 | 58 |
| Oklahoma | +37% | 1969 | 54 |
| Texas | -13% | 1969 | 209 |
| Utah | +151% | 2009 | 6 |
Greater Roadrunner Population Trend by Region
Bird Conservation Regions are the ecological unit for trends.
| Great Basin | -9% | 2002 | 5 |
| Southern Rockies / Colorado Plateau | +4% | 1972 | 32 |
| Shortgrass Prairie | -42% | 1970 | 50 |
| Central Mixed Grass Prairie | +26% | 1969 | 55 |
| Edwards Plateau | -51% | 1969 | 19 |
| Oaks and Prairies | +32% | 1969 | 65 |
| Central Hardwoods | +19% | 1971 | 22 |
| West Gulf Coastal Plain / Ouachitas | -18% | 1969 | 66 |
| Coastal California | -86% | 1971 | 58 |
| Sonoran and Mojave Deserts | -60% | 1970 | 74 |
| Sierra Madre Occidental | -50% | 1970 | 25 |
| Chihuahuan Desert | -27% | 1969 | 55 |
| Tamaulipan Brushlands | +6% | 1969 | 27 |
| Gulf Coastal Prairie | +377% | 1978 | 12 |
Greater Roadrunner Conservation Status
Our route-weighted index shows it up about 7% since 1969.
Source: USGS North American Breeding Bird Survey, retrieved 2026-05-22. Trend is a route-weighted relative-abundance index, not an absolute population.