Can Roadrunners Fly? (Everything Explained)

The roadrunner is a fast-running ground cuckoo that roams mainly in the deserts of the southwestern and southeastern United States and Mexico. Generally, they can always be seen running on the ground, so can roadrunners fly?

Roadrunners are capable of flying, but usually only for short distances, usually only a few seconds, because they were not built for that. They can reach impressive speeds of over 25 mph while running, which is one of the main reasons why flying is a last resort.

While roadrunners cannot fly great distances, they are actually the fastest birds on earth and can fly, albeit short distances.

Read on to find out why roadrunners don’t fly, as well as some more interesting facts.

roadrunner in flight

Why can’t roadrunners fly?

Generally, roadrunners do not choose to fly, as they can only sustain short distances of less than a minute. Instead, they tend to try to escape any potential danger, such as predators such as hawks and coyotes.

Roadrunners do not have a keel on their sternum, which is present in birds of high flight. The keel, also known as the carina, is an extension of the sternum and is the attachment point for the large pectoral muscles needed for long flight. In contrast, roadrunners have very small pectoral muscles, which means it’s literally impossible to sustain flight for more than a few seconds — which also makes gliding difficult, too!

Roadrunners have rather short and rounded wings, unlike most other birds. This is another reason why they are not particularly good at flying, and they tend to only fly up to high posts or branches.

Greater Roadrunner jumps off the rock

Roadrunners have strong legs and feet, which give them excellent running abilities. Two of their toes point forward and two point backward. This incredible speed and ability is the reason they are aptly named “Roadrunners.”

That’s because they can run at speeds in excess of 25 mph (40 km/h), which means roadrunners are extremely fast. This running speed is not only great for evading predators, but it also comes in handy when catching fast prey on the ground, such as lizards, mice, and rabbits. When they’re not running, roadrunners still tend to walk quickly, looking for their next good meal. Once they find suitable prey, they speed up the pursuit and stun the target with their beaks.

roadrunner in the desert

low nesting area

Roadrunners build their nests close to the ground because they are not skilled fliers. Nests are usually built in suitable trees, thorny shrubs or cacti a few feet above the ground, often surrounded by large patches of woody vegetation or shrubs as an extra layer of protection and safety from any predators.

flight and migration

It should come as no surprise that roadrunners are sedentary and do not migrate. This is because their inability to fly basically means they have to migrate on foot. Instead, they can be found in deserts throughout the year.

How far can roadrunners fly?

Most of the time, when Roadrunners fly, it only flies a very short distance of about 5 meters. Usually, this is when they fly between treetops, or as a last resort into trees or hidden areas to avoid predation.

Roadrunners have extremely low flight capabilities, which usually means that when they fly greater distances, they usually need to glide from their nests or from high places, and their wings are long and long.

Flight is often a series of occasional flaps lasting a few seconds before glide to touchdown.

Roadrunners can jump from the ground to the sky

How high can roadrunners fly?

Few people know how high roadrunners can fly, however, most of the time, they only reach a height of about 10 feet when in flight.

Although they don’t tend to fly at high altitudes, roadrunners are able to jump high in the air to catch insects and sometimes other birds for food. It depends on the strength of their feet and legs.

How fast can roadrunners fly?

Due to their lack of flying skills, no studies have been done on how fast roadrunners could fly. However, when it comes to running, they have been recorded reaching speeds of up to 27 mph (43 km/h).

At what age can roadrunners fly?

Roadrunners take about 24 days to reach the age of flight after hatching.