The Greater Roadrunner (Geococcyx californianus), is a long-legged bird in the cuckoo family, Cuculidae, from the Aridoamerica region in the Southwestern United States and Mexico. The scientific name means "Californian earth-cuckoo". Along with the lesser roadrunner, it is one of two species in the genus Geococcyx.
Roadrunners are very fast-running New World ground cuckoos with long legs and tails. The greater roadrunner is the largest cuckoo in the Americas. It lives in the dry shrublands of the southwestern United States and northern Mexico. Although the greater roadrunner can fly, it spends most of its time on the ground, where it uses its long legs to run at speeds of up to 26 miles per hour. The greater roadrunner uses its speed to run down prey, which includes insects, spiders, scorpions, and small vertebrates (especially lizards and snakes). They are opportunistic omnivores that eat carrion and other bird eggs and chicks. They also eat fruits and sumacs. Roadrunners don't have to drink water and are able to get their liquids from the juice of a prickly pear cactus fruit.
Greater roadrunners have many predators including coyotes, bobcats, cougars, raccoons, skunks, crows, ravens.