photo Natasha Lloyd

What does the fox say?   “Ring-ding-ding-ding-dingeringeding!” according to Ylvis and this viral video.  As the lyrics say,

“Dog goes woof
Cat goes meow
Bird goes tweet
and mouse goes squeak.”

We have words for sounds of many creatures in the animal kingdom, but our vocabulary lacks an appropriate expression for the sound of a fox. What does the fox really say?  What sound does the animal, the fox, make? Serious minded people want to know.

The answer, at least for the red fox,  is kindly provided by the State of Connecticut Department of Energy & Environmental Protection:

“Foxes are quite vocal, exhibiting various barks, howls, and whines. The sounds vary from a short, sharp “yap” or bark, followed by a “yap, yap,” to a combination of screeches, yells, and long howls. A common report to the DEP Wildlife Division involves the sounds made by red foxes (e.g., a raspy, single syllable scream or bark, repeated regularly every 3-10 seconds).”

Online audio examples of fox sounds include:
Mental Floss fox sounds
Youtube fox sounds

 

Want to find out more about the viral video?  You can look at the popularity in numbers for this hit by the Norwegian band Ylvis in this article from Billboard Magazine, or read an interview with Bård Ylvisåker of Ylvis.

Foxy Information

  *Wallen, Martin.  Fox, a book on human-animal relationships.

*“fox,” from the  Encyclopædia Britannica Online Academic Edition.

“Foxes,” from BBC Nature Wildlife  

“Red Fox,” from the State of Connecticut Department of Energy & Environmental Protection  

“Fox,”  from National Geographic.

 

Foxy Literature

*The Fox by D. H. Lawrence.  (ebook).

*“Fox,” from All Things Chaucer in Credo Reference.

Fantastic Mr. Fox (DVD in Media Services)  or the book by Roald Dahl.

*Aesop’s Fables streaming audio, narrated by Lois Lane, “Freddie the Fox,” and “The Fox and the Goats”  from the database L.A. Theatre Works.

 

Foxy Music

*The Fox performed by Harold de Vance Land from Jazz Music Online.

*The Fox, from Jazz Music Online, played by the Antonio Ciacca Quartet.

*The Fox, American folk song performed by Pete Seeger in the database Music Online.

*The Fox and the Crow, American folk song performed by Doug Elliott from Music Online.

 *Fox on the Run, music from the film Dazed and Confused, performed by Union of Sound, in the database Music Online.

*Jumping Fox,  jazz song performed by Eliane Elias, cool jazz piano, in the database Music Online.

*Cat & Fox, chill with Twilight Music, performer Tatma Project in the database Music Online.

*Fox House performed by the Alex Hutton Trio from Music Online.

*Fox,  Trip-Hop, performed by Zion Train in Music Online.

 

Temple University Libraries wishes you a foxy Halloween!

*  Items marked by an asterisk require Temple username and password for off-campus access.