Editing Coyote (section)

===Communication===
[[File:Howl (cropped).jpg|thumb|A coyote [[howling]]]]
[[File:Pack of coyotes howling.ogg|thumb|Pack of coyotes howling at night]]

====Body language====
Being both a gregarious and solitary animal, the variability of the coyote's visual and vocal repertoire is intermediate between that of the solitary foxes and the highly social wolf.<ref name="fox1974"/> The aggressive behavior of the coyote bears more similarities to that of foxes than it does that of wolves and dogs. An aggressive coyote arches its back and lowers its tail.<ref name="silver1969">{{cite journal|author1=Silver, H. |author2= Silver, W. T. |jstor=3830473|title=Growth and Behavior of the Coyote-like Canid of Northern New England and Observations on Canid Hybrids|year= 1969|journal=The Wildlife Society, Wildlife Monographs|volume= 17|issue= 17 |pages= 24–25| issn=1938-5455 |oclc=60618095}}</ref> Unlike dogs, which solicit playful behavior by performing a "play-bow" followed by a "play-leap", play in coyotes consists of a bow, followed by side-to-side head flexions and a series of "spins" and "dives". Although coyotes will sometimes bite their playmates' scruff as dogs do, they typically approach low, and make upward-directed bites.<ref name="fox134">{{Harvnb|Fox|1978|pp=134–135}}</ref> 

Pups fight each other regardless of sex, while among adults, aggression is typically reserved for members of the same sex. Combatants approach each other waving their tails and snarling with their jaws open, though fights are typically silent. Males tend to fight in a vertical stance, while females fight on all four paws. Fights among females tend to be more serious than ones among males, as females seize their opponents' forelegs, throat, and shoulders.<ref name="silver1969"/>

====Vocalizations====
[[File:Yelping Coyote.webm|thumb|A yelping coyote]]
The coyote has been described as "the most vocal of all [wild] North American mammals".<ref name="Mammals in Kansas">{{cite book|last1=Bee|first1=James|title=Mammals in Kansas|date=1981|publisher=University of Kansas|page=165}}</ref><ref name="Mares_Oklahoma_1999">{{cite book|author1=Michael A. Mares|author2=Oklahoma Museum of Natural History (Norman, Okla.)|title=Encyclopedia of Deserts|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=g3CbqZtaF4oC&pg=PA137|year=1999|publisher=University of Oklahoma Press|isbn=978-0-8061-3146-7|pages=137–8}}</ref> Its loudness and range of vocalizations was the cause for its binomial name ''Canis latrans'', meaning "barking dog". At least 11 different vocalizations are known in adult coyotes. These sounds are divided into three categories: agonistic and alarm, greeting, and contact. Vocalizations of the first category include woofs, growls, huffs, barks, bark howls, yelps, and high-frequency whines. Woofs are used as low-intensity threats or alarms and are usually heard near den sites, prompting the pups to immediately retreat into their burrows.<ref name="lehner1978"/>

Growls are used as threats at short distances but have also been heard among pups playing and copulating males. Huffs are high-intensity threat vocalizations produced by rapid expiration of air. Barks can be classed as both long-distance threat vocalizations and alarm calls. Bark howls may serve similar functions. Yelps are emitted as a sign of submission, while high-frequency whines are produced by dominant animals acknowledging the submission of subordinates. Greeting vocalizations include low-frequency whines, 'wow-oo-wows', and group yip howls. Low-frequency whines are emitted by submissive animals and are usually accompanied by tail wagging and muzzle nibbling.<ref name="lehner1978"/>

The sound known as 'wow-oo-wow' has been described as a "greeting song". The group yip howl is emitted when two or more pack members reunite and may be the final act of a complex greeting ceremony. Contact calls include lone howls and group howls, as well as the previously mentioned group yip howls. The lone howl is the most iconic sound of the coyote and may serve the purpose of announcing the presence of a lone individual separated from its pack. Group howls are used as both substitute group yip howls and as responses to either lone howls, group howls, or group yip howls.<ref name="lehner1978">{{cite book|last=Lehner|first=Philip N. |year=1978|chapter=Coyote Communication|pages=127–162|editor-first=M. |editor-last=Bekoff|title=Coyotes: Biology, Behavior, and Management|publisher=Academic Press| location=New York|isbn=978-1-930665-42-2|oclc=52626838}}</ref>