Color varies, but coyotes are usually grey. Coyotes communicate by howling. Thus coyotes have long and slender legs, their bodies are muscular and deep chested, and their claws are strong, blunt, and non retractile. Their usually elongated skull is considered an adaptation for seizing or biting prey on the run. Females breed during January and March and produce an average of 6 pups.
Coyotes typically have five toes on each forefoot and four toes on each hind foot.
The fifth, or thumb, is a vestigial. The larger species of coyotes often travel in packs, in which individuals follow and obey a dominant member. They have a keen sense of smell for use in hunting. Originally coyotes inhabited open country and grasslands. Since civilization has taken the coyotes habitat away, the coyote has nowhere to go, but try and live amongst us.