Roadrunners: Activity of Captive Individuals

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Abstract
Two roadrunners, Geococcyx californianus, readily accepted an activity wheel as an outlet for locomotor activity. The birds were strictly diurnal and tended to be most active per unit of time in the predusk hours. There was less activity on partly overcast days than on clear days. Dim light and darkness were strongly inhibitory, even during daytime hours; bright light was stimulatory, even during nighttime hours. These findings appear to open the way for quantitative comparative studies of the influences of environmental factors on the activity of cursorial birds.