Color ranges from a sandy gray to a tawny red with white underparts, with some degree of spotting. In North America, Felis lynx canadensis may have a rather frosted appearance, so that the spots become hardly noticeable. Lynx in Kashmir and Tibet, Felis lynx isabellinus, a race of European Lynx, look unspotted when in their thick winter coat, but show indistinct spots on the underparts in summer. The Spanish Lynx, Felis lynx pardina, has a yellowish-red coat and white underparts, is clearly spotted in black. Northern Eurasian Lynxes, Felis lynx lynx, look much like the North American race.
Lynx can climb well and are good swimmers.
They have acute vision and will stalk prey over long distances or wait patiently in ambush before making a final, typical felid bound from as close as possible. They are usually solitary animals and nocturnal hunters, but cooperative hunting has occasionally been observed, with rabbits being driven towards a waiting ambush or a pair of lynxes stalking from both sides of joint prey. In North America the Snowshoe Hare is the most important prey animal , but lynx will also take small rodents, ducks and ground dwelling birds, young deer, fish, and larger cattle, if they can be ambushed from above in winter when they are at a disadvantage in the snow or when they have sustained injury. Elsewhere other hares, rodents, chamois, roe deer, even young wild boar, wildcats, badgers, foxes and dogs may all feature in their diet. In Sweden even reindeer have been taken.