He wags his cocked tail from side to side and occasionally springs into the air and clumsily hovers to keep her attention. If the female accepts the morsel instead of running away, the pair usually mates. The life of a wild roadrunner does have its dangers, and there are times when the predator becomes prey. Although they often escape ambush, roadrunners are occasionally preyed upon by hawks and house cats. Raccoons, rat snakes, bullsnakes, skunks, and, yes, coyotes eat nestlings and eggs.
Roadrunners are members of the cuckoo family.
However, North America's cuckoos build their own nests and raise their own young. They spend much of their time concealed in thick foliage, skulking in the shadows in search of caterpillars and other insects to feed themselves and their young. Roadrunner pairs remain together for years. During the early spring, after courtship and mating, the female, with some help from her mate, builds a nest of twigs in the crotch of a short tree or a clump of cacti. The male spends much of his time shuttling back and forth, collecting twigs for the female.