If your kids have met Zippet — the backpack-wearing roadrunner who loves running and exploring they already love the cartoon version. But here’s the fun part: the real roadrunner is even just as wonderful and exciting as the made-up one.

Roadrunners are clever trackers, snake-fighters, and some of the fastest things on two legs you’ll ever see in the open country. And they are cute with their long legs and tails and spiky crest that looks like a punk hairdo.

Here are seven real, surprising roadrunner facts your kids will actually want to know.

1. Roadrunners are members of the cuckoo family. The greater roadrunner’s scientific name is Geococcyx californianus. They do live across the southwestern United States, including the dry hills of central and southern California. This is the area Zip calls his home.
2. Roadrunners rather run than fly. – They can fly, but only in short bursts. Mostly they sprint and reach amazing speeds – up to 26 miles an hour. That’s just a little less than, Usain Bolt, the fastest person ever recorded in his world record setting sprint.
3. They are clever hunters that sometimes coordinate to attack a larger animal, e.g. a rattlesnake. One Roadrunner distracts the rattler from the front while the other strikes from behind.
4. They leave X-shaped footprints. Roadrunners have two toes pointing forward and two pointing back. Long ago, Pueblo peoples used the X-shaped track as a good-luck symbol, because you can’t tell which way the bird was heading.
5. They don’t actually say „meep meep.“- A real roadrunner makes a soft, low, descending coo — a bit like a sleepy dove.
6. They sunbathe to warm up – on cold mornings, roadrunners turn their back to the sun and fluff up their feathers to uncover a patch of dark skin — like a little built-in solar panel — to soak up heat and warm itself up fast.
7. Roadrunners are built for quick turns. They use thir long tail like a rudder — swinging it to brake, balance, and change direction in a flash as they dart after fast-moving prey.

This list makes a great read-aloud — save it for the next long drive!

Fun Ways to Share These Facts

A few favorite uses from parents and teachers:

• Read-aloud on the road. They’re bite-sized and surprising — perfect for the next long drive when someone asks „are we there yet?“
• A tiny nature lesson. Great for homeschool or a rainy afternoon. Pick a fact, look up a photo of a real roadrunner, and you’ve got a painless science moment.
• Pair them with coloring. Read a fact, then color the bird it’s about — facts stick better when little hands are busy.

Color Your Own Roadrunner — Free

Want to bring Zip to life? Grab our free printable roadrunner coloring pages — four ready-to-print pages, perfect for a little coloring fun after the real-life fun facts above.

→ [DOWNLOAD] Send me the free coloring pages · [BLOG-COLORING] See all the free pages

And if your kids fall for him — they tend to — Zip’s first coloring book, Zip Was Here!, takes the fun further with 30 pages of roadrunner adventures, built for ages 4 to 5 and just right for new colorists. → [AMAZON] See Zip’s coloring book

Zip’s second coloring book, Zip Lives Here!, showcases 30 wild animals that live in Zip’s neighborhood. Big bold shapes for small hands but realistic looking so it’s not only fun to color them but also a small science moment.

In Zip’s third coloring book, Zip Painted This!, Zip shows us more amazing, colorful animals from around the world. Real coloring fun for little animal lovers.

Happy learning — and happy coloring.

Books with Zippet and his friends, they call themselves “The Flock”, are published by Satin Press. Find more free printables and books at zippetbooks.com.