Wile E. Coyote (also known simply as "The Coyote") and the Road Runner are a duo of characters from the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies series of cartoons. In the cartoons, the Coyote repeatedly attempts to catch and subsequently eat the Road Runner, a fast-running ground bird, but is never successful. Instead of his species' animal instincts, the Coyote uses absurdly complex contraptions (sometimes in the manner of Rube Goldberg) and elaborate plans to pursue his prey, resulting in his devices comically backfiring with the Coyote often getting injured in slapstick fashion.