🐦 Greater roadrunner vs Secretarybird 🦅
The secretarybird is about twice as tall as the greater roadrunner.
Getting the animals ready…
| Row | 🐦 Greater roadrunner | 🦅 Secretarybird |
|---|---|---|
| Size The secretarybird is about twice as tall as the greater roadrunner. | 23 in58 cm1 | 35 in to 3.9 ft90 cm to 1.2 m2 |
| Top speed We don't have a checked number for the secretarybird yet. | 20 mph32 km/h1 | no checked number yet |
| Weight We don't have a checked number for the greater roadrunner yet. | no checked number yet | 5.1 to 9.4 lb2.3 to 4.3 kg2 |
| Lives We don't have a checked number for the greater roadrunner yet. | no checked number yet | 19 years19 years2 |
| Eats Both eat meat. | lizards, insects, spiders, small snakes and rodents | insects and small mammals, and sometimes birds, eggs, frogs, lizards and snakes |
| Lives in They live in different kinds of places, so they would hardly ever meet. | the deserts and dry scrub of the southwestern United States and Mexico | open savanna, grassland and scrub across Africa south of the Sahara |
Which one? Greater roadrunner or secretarybird
🏁 Who would win the race?
We don't have a checked top speed for the secretarybird yet, so there is no race.
We only race. Real animals mostly avoid each other. A race is the only fair contest: who reaches the tree first, by top speed.
8 things to know about Greater roadrunner vs Secretarybird
- The greater roadrunner: A kind of cuckoo that runs across the desert instead of flying.
- The secretarybird: A tall African bird of prey that walks a long way each day.
- They are the same kind of animal: both are birds.
- The secretarybird is about twice as tall as the greater roadrunner: 2 against 1.
- Both eat meat. The greater roadrunner eats lizards, insects, spiders, small snakes and rodents; the secretarybird eats insects and small mammals, and sometimes birds, eggs, frogs, lizards and snakes.
- The greater roadrunner lives in the deserts and dry scrub of the southwestern United States and Mexico. The secretarybird lives in open savanna, grassland and scrub across Africa south of the Sahara. They live in different kinds of places, so they would hardly ever meet.
- The greater roadrunner: doing fine (Least Concern on the IUCN Red List). 3
- The secretarybird: in danger (Endangered on the IUCN Red List). 4
Wow facts
🐦 Greater roadrunner
- Its footprints look like an X.
- It gets most of its water from the food it eats.
- A dark patch on its back soaks up the morning sun.
🦅 Secretarybird
- A secretarybird walks a long way on foot each day.
- It has very long legs for a bird of prey.
- It can fly well, too.
Questions kids ask about Greater roadrunner and Secretarybird
Which is bigger, greater roadrunner or secretarybird?
The secretarybird is about twice as tall as the greater roadrunner: 2 against 1.
Which is heavier, greater roadrunner or secretarybird?
We only have a checked weight for the secretarybird: 2. Scientists are still working out the other.
What do greater roadrunner and secretarybird eat?
Both eat meat. The greater roadrunner eats lizards, insects, spiders, small snakes and rodents; the secretarybird eats insects and small mammals, and sometimes birds, eggs, frogs, lizards and snakes.
Where do greater roadrunner and secretarybird live?
The greater roadrunner lives in the deserts and dry scrub of the southwestern United States and Mexico. The secretarybird lives in open savanna, grassland and scrub across Africa south of the Sahara. They live in different kinds of places, so they would hardly ever meet.
Who would win, greater roadrunner or secretarybird?
We never show fights, because a fight is not a fair way to compare animals. They live in different kinds of places, so they would hardly ever meet. What we can compare is how big, how heavy, how fast, how long they live and what they eat, as above.
📤 Share this pair
The link carries only the two animals’ names: peabody.kids/animals/compare/greater-roadrunner-vs-secretarybird
Where these numbers come from
- National Park Service, White Sands National Park, checked 30 October 2026.
- University of Michigan Museum of Zoology, Animal Diversity Web: Sagittarius serpentarius (secretarybird), checked 10 November 2026.
- Wikidata, from the IUCN Red List, checked 30 October 2026.
- Wikidata, from the IUCN Red List, checked 10 November 2026.