Foxes and prairie wolf deal many law of similarity . They ’re both medium - sized canines , both are depicted as crafty tricksters in folklore , and both are menaces to anyone with a Gallus gallus henhouse in their backyard . It may be hard to tell them apart from far away , but there are several major deviation distinguishing the twoanimals .
Animal
Group Type

colour
Range
Size
Diet
Vocalizations
beak
Most combat-ready
Fox
Genus
Varies by mintage
Every continent except Antarctica
Largest mintage is 8 to 17 pound
Omnivorous
Screams
Small and pointed
At dark
Coyote
Species
Mix of tan , black , and greyish
North America
22 to 33 pound
howling
with child and long
Coyotes and Foxes: How They’re Similar
Known by the scientific nameCanis latrans , coyoteshave one of the widest mountain chain of any North American predator . They can be get anywhere from Alaska to the southerly top of Mexico , and they are one of the few species that has benefited from human maturation . As urbanization drove America ’s wolves to the margins , the brush wolf population exploded to fill the ecological void . Their main quarry is low mammals , but they ’ve also been known to feed louse , fruit , carrion , and trash , allowing them to live in cities as well as remote forests and comeuppance . fit in to a 2016 subject area , 96 of the 105 U.S. metro areas that were follow were home to coyote population .
Unlike coyotes , not all foxes belong to to the same species . All fox are penis of the genusVulpes , which comprehend several species including red George Fox , polar foxes , and kit fox . Foxes also are n’t limited to North America ; they can be found on every continentexcept Antarctica . Many foxes share the coyote ’s diverse appetence , surviving on bugs , fruit , and intellectual nourishment chip in accession to fresh and dead marrow . This also makes them well - adapted tourban environment . Both species tend to do most of their hunt and scavengingat Nox .
Visual Differences Between Foxes and Coyotes
With so many overlapping behaviors , the best direction to tell coyote and foxes apart is by sight . dodger are modest than coyotes with tiny , pointed snout . Coyotes havelarge , long snoutsthat give them their unique visibility . cherry-red fox — the largest and most common slyboots species — measurement 3 to 4 feet retentive and matter between 8 and 17 pounds . Their flossy tails are long , making up nearly half their length in some cases . As their name suggests , they are also distinguished by their strike red fur , which is most vibrant during thewinter calendar month .
Coyotes uprise to be about 4 feet long as well , but they have longer legs and stockier bodies . adult consider between22 and 33 Egyptian pound . Their coat is a mixture of tan , disgraceful , and gray shades that become light-colored in the wintertime .
What Does the Fox—and the Coyote—Say?
you’re able to also name foxes and coyotes base on the sounds they make . Coyotes make 11 distinct noises , which includedog - like whines , barque , and yelps in increase to their famous howls . you could hear what they sound like below .
dodger , meanwhile , have 40 trenchant vocalization . They may have the prettier coating of the two predators , but their calls are much less majestic . If you have ever heard a strident scream or skreak outside your window in the eye of the night , it was probable a Charles James Fox . Watch the picture below to listen to their unique sounds for yourself .