Greater Roadrunner Sounds

Overview
ID info
Life History
Maps
Sounds

Song
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Missouri, May 09, 2014Recorded by Mark Robbins / Macaulay Library
Calls
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Arizona, March 11, 1983Recorded by William W. H. Gunn / Macaulay Library
Calls
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California, February 25, 2002Recorded by Terri Gallion
Bill rattle
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Colorado, August 16, 2020Recorded by Andrew Spencer / Macaulay Library
Calls
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Arizona, March 17, 1959Recorded by Arthur A. Allen / Macaulay Library

Sounds provided by Macaulay Library.
Listen to more sounds of this species from the ML archive.

Songs

Male Greater Roadrunners make a distinct co-coo-coo-coo-coooooo in a series of 3–8 downward slurring notes to attract or contact a mate and mark a territory. Beginning before sunrise, the cooing can be heard up to a quarter-mile away, and often elicits a response from a neighboring male.

Calls

Both members of a pair give a single-note coo as part of a display following copulation. Another variation sounds like a low-pitched growl and is given when a pair forages together, or by a parent communicating with chicks on the nest. Both male and female also make a short, sharp barking call that sounds like a yipping coyote. Females bark when at the nest site in response to a mate foraging nearby. As part of the courtship display, males make a low-pitched call consisting of mechanical-sounding putts and whirs as he faces the female.

Other Sounds

Both chicks and adults snap the mandibles together to make a sound like castanets. A sharp whine accompanies the clacking, with the female making a higher-pitched, more rapid sound. The clack may help roadrunners locate each other as well as serve as a warning to potential intruders. Males snap their wings in toward the body during a prancing display prior to copulation.