Milly Gaines
Red foxes are omnivores with a highly varied diet. They are expert hunters, but they also scavenge for food in bins and eat berries and fruit. In rural areas, their diet is heavily reliant on small mammals, while urban foxes tend to eat more waste and insects. They are known to eat rodents, rabbits, birds, frogs, worms, and even carrion.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Diet Type | Omnivorous |
| Primary Food Source | Meat Protein |
| Predominant Food | Small Mammals, especially rodents |
| Examples of Food | Rabbits, Rats, Mice, Voles, Squirrels, Frogs, Birds, Insects, Worms, Fruit |
| Scavenging | Scavenge for food in litter bins, feed on roadkill |
| Rural vs Urban Diet | Rural foxes eat more meat, urban foxes eat more insects and food waste |
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What You'll Learn
Insects, worms and fruit
Red foxes are omnivorous and opportunistic predators. They are known to feed on insects, worms, and fruit, in addition to small mammals, birds, and other plant material. The consumption of these food items can vary depending on the season, local availability, and the fox's natural hunting behaviour.
Insects play a significant role in the diet of red foxes, especially during late summer and autumn. Beetles, butterflies, moths, crickets, and grasshoppers are among the most commonly consumed insects. Foxes have been observed "hoovering up" crane flies and even catching moths in flight. Insect larvae and hoverfly larvae, found in stagnant water, are also part of their insectivorous diet.
Worms, particularly earthworms, are an important food source for red foxes. In certain months, earthworms can account for more than 60% of a fox's calorific intake. Worm hunting, or "worming behaviour," as described by David Macdonald in a 1980 paper, is a crucial aspect of a fox's survival strategy.
Fruit is another essential component of the red fox's diet, especially during the autumn season. Foxes consume both wild and cultivated fruits, including blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, cherries, persimmons, mulberries, apples, plums, grapes, dates, figs, and even acorns. Yew berries are also eaten by foxes, although the seeds are toxic to most other mammals. Fruit can account for 10% to 30% of their diet, depending on the locality and season.
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Rural vs urban diets
Foxes are omnivores with a highly adaptable and varied diet. They are expert hunters, but they also scavenge for food. Their diet includes plant and animal matter, reflecting their resilience and ability to thrive in various environments.
Rural foxes may have a diet heavily reliant on small mammals, particularly rodents (rats, mice, voles, and the occasional squirrel) and lagomorphs (rabbits and hares). In rural areas, these groups typically account for about 50% of the diet. Insects and worms may constitute another 4% of their diet, with fruit making up the remaining 1%. They also scavenge for food, and their diet may include birds, reptiles, and invertebrates.
Urban foxes, on the other hand, may have a diet consisting more of food waste, insects, and worms. They scavenge for food in dustbins and trash cans, feeding on leftovers, pet food, and even roadkill. Urban foxes are most active at dusk and dawn, doing most of their hunting and scavenging at these times. They are less likely to be spotted during the day but can sometimes be seen sunbathing on roofs. Urban residents may also deliberately leave food out for them. While natural prey and scavenged meat may cover about 55% of an urban fox's diet, insects and worms make up about 20%, fruit accounts for 7%, and household leftovers make up the remaining 18%.
Both rural and urban foxes are opportunistic and will take advantage of any available food. Their diets vary with the changing seasons, and they rely more on scavenging during the winter when food is scarce.
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Scavenging and hunting
Red foxes are omnivores with a highly varied diet. They are expert hunters and scavengers, and their diet includes plant and animal matter. Foxes are extraordinarily opportunistic, and their diet varies greatly depending on their location and season. For example, a fox living in a rural area may have a diet heavily reliant on small mammals, while an urban fox's diet might consist more of food waste and insects.
In the wild, red foxes primarily feed on small mammals like rodents (mice, voles, rats, hamsters, gerbils, woodchucks, pocket gophers, squirrels, and deer mice), rabbits, and other lagomorphs (hares). They also eat birds, ranging from small ground-nesting birds to domestic poultry, if accessible. Foxes have been known to cause considerable damage to colonies of nesting birds, especially when feeding cubs. The wild birds most often featuring in fox diets include Passerines ("song birds", such as blackbirds, robins, and starlings), Columbiformes (doves and pigeons), Galliformes (chickens and waterfowl), Larids (gulls), and Charadriiformes (wading birds).
In urban areas, red foxes scavenge for food in dustbins and litter bins, feeding on food waste, insects, and even pet food left outdoors. Urban foxes are most active at dusk and dawn, doing most of their hunting and scavenging at these times. They are also known to catch pigeons and rats.
Red foxes also consume insects and other invertebrates, such as worms, cockchafer grubs, and cranefly larvae, which are especially important for those living in urban areas. Foxes have also been observed feeding on carrion, or the remains of dead animals, and even roadkill.
In addition to their meat-based diet, red foxes also eat plant matter, including fruit and berries. In some areas, fruit can amount to 100% of their diet in autumn, with commonly consumed fruits including blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, cherries, persimmons, mulberries, apples, plums, grapes, and acorns.
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Omnivorous diet
Red foxes are omnivores with a highly varied diet. They are extraordinarily opportunistic and adaptable, which is reflected in their culinary habits. Research conducted in the former Soviet Union found that red foxes consumed over 300 animal species and a few dozen plant species.
Red foxes primarily feed on small mammals, particularly rodents such as rats, mice, voles, squirrels, hamsters, gerbils, woodchucks, and deer mice. In rural areas, small mammals typically account for about 50% of their diet. They also eat lagomorphs, including rabbits and hares. Foxes are expert hunters and play a crucial role in controlling the population of rodents and other small animals.
Birds are also a significant part of the red fox's diet, ranging from small ground-nesting birds to domestic poultry, if accessible. The most common wild birds in fox diets include Passerines ("song birds" such as blackbirds, robins, and starlings), Columbiformes (doves and pigeons), Galliformes (chickens and waterfowl), Larids (gulls), and Charadriiformes (wading birds).
Insects, worms, and other small invertebrates are an important food source for red foxes, especially in urban areas. They also consume fruit and vegetable matter, and in some regions, fruit can make up 100% of their diet in autumn. Commonly eaten fruits include blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, cherries, persimmons, mulberries, apples, plums, grapes, and acorns.
Red foxes are scavengers as well as hunters, and they will take advantage of food waste, trash bins, and pet food left outdoors. They are known to scavenge roadkill and carrion, contributing to their omnivorous diet.
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Meat sources
Foxes are omnivores, but their diet consists predominantly of meat. In rural areas, small mammals typically account for about 50% of a fox's diet. These include rodents such as rats, mice, voles, squirrels, hamsters, gerbils, woodchucks, pocket gophers, and deer mice. They also eat lagomorphs, which include rabbits and hares.
Foxes are opportunistic hunters and will prey on birds, ranging from small ground-nesting birds to domestic poultry, if accessible. Wild birds that commonly feature in their diets include passerines ("songbirds" such as blackbirds, robins, and starlings), columbiformes (doves and pigeons), galliformes (chickens and waterfowl), larids (gulls), and charadriiformes (wading birds).
Foxes will also scavenge for food, feeding on carrion or food left by humans, especially in urban areas. They are known to scavenge through trash bins and litter bags for food waste and pet food left outdoors. In urban areas, insects can make up a significant part of a fox's diet.
Foxes have also been known to feed on larger mammals, including otters, stoats, deer (including red deer, roe deer, and Chinese water deer), and European badgers. They may also consume other smaller predators, such as opossums.
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Frequently asked questions
Red foxes are omnivores and are known to eat both plant and animal matter. They are expert hunters, feeding on small mammals like rodents (mice, voles, rats, squirrels, hamsters, gerbils, woodchucks, pocket gophers, and deer mice), rabbits, birds, frogs, and earthworms. They also eat berries, fruit, insects, and worms.
Urban red foxes are known to scavenge food from litter bins and bin bags, although their diet is similar to that of rural red foxes. Rural foxes rely more on scavenged food and hunting, while urban foxes' diets consist more of food waste, insects, and pet food left outdoors.
Secondary prey species for red foxes include leporids, porcupines, raccoons, opossums, reptiles, other invertebrates, flotsam (marine mammals, fish, and echinoderms), and carrion.
