Joshua Tree National Park Desert Plants and Wildlife

A long-legged, ground-dwelling bird with a shaggy crest, long tail, and streaked plumage that runs rapidly across desert flats. In Joshua Tree it hunts insects, lizards, and small vertebrates in open scrub and is often seen perched on yuccas or fences.

Long tail often held horizontally, shaggy crest, streaked brown-and-white plumage, and a tendency to run rapidly on the ground rather than fly frequently.

Common Confusions

• Gambel's Quail Callipepla gambelii Quail are plump, short-legged, and usually in coveys with a topknot, not long-tailed or built for running like the roadrunner.
• Cuckoo Other cuckoos are smaller and more arboreal; the roadrunner's terrestrial habits, long tail, and crest are distinctive.