^Hptember, 1921.] 



The Canadian Field-Naturalist. 



109 



Long-Tailed Weasel. 



Must el a longicauda longicauda 



(Bonapar'e). 



A very common species uii the prairie, 

 but their presence, unless by one pur- 

 posely seeking them, would pass unsuspect- 

 ed. A specimen taken on October 18 was 

 still brown dorsally, but shedding rapidly, 

 witli a thick fine coat of white replacing 

 it l)eneath. About November 3 half of the 

 specmiens collected had a scattered but 

 diminishing quantity of brown, while all 

 those after the sixth were pure white. A 

 wide-spread individual variation prevails 

 in completing the moult, although each and 

 all, it will be noted, exist under the same 

 local conditions. Occasional weasels had 

 completed the moult before November 1, 

 wliile others in a like environment a week 

 later still presented a thin brown shade 

 tlicii' entire dorsal length. 



Following are the measurements of lon- 

 gicauda taken in the vicinity of Islay. 

 Sex Length Tail Vert. H. Foot 



Male 430 140 50 



Male 450 155 50 



Male 445 155 50 



Male 475 175 50 



Female 390 140 45 



Female 365 125 40 



Female 370 130 42 



Female 400 145 45 



Female 375 .125 47 



Female 380 130 46 



Throughout periods of intense cold and 

 even winter storms the long-tailed weasel 

 .seems to pursue activities without abate- 

 ment. Many animals, thougli remaining 

 active tliroughout tlie winter, are clearly 

 more so during the lulls of fine weather. 

 Often have I observed the suspended act- 

 ivity of such as red squirrel and mink 

 during and* succeeding violent winter 

 storms. But the long-tail pays little heed 

 to these. On November 5, although snow 

 fell for the entire day before and part 

 of the succeeding night, the ermine was 

 found to have been around and about his 

 business as usual. They doubtless travel 

 on the coldest and stormiest nights of 

 winter, and, in the case of the long-tailed 

 species, over the bleakest aiid most ex- 

 ]K scd 1-anges. 



Their chosen field is the open p-airie 

 wliere they wander erratically from place 

 to place, visiting wolf-willow clumps, go- 

 pher holes, odd stones, aspen bluffs, and 

 anv other irregularities which appear in 



their line of travel. Their life seems an 

 endless roving in .search of food, conducted 

 wi'hout design, lacking home and appa- 

 rent destination. This may be regarded 

 as a superficial impression. Having spent 

 many hours upon their trails in the snow 

 and cold, unravelling as it seemed a clue 

 to their very lives and destiny, I have dis- 

 covered tlie opposite to be the truth. Al- 

 though their wanderings seem the most er- 

 ratic and inconsistent imaginable, there is 

 yet beneath it a species of method. I have 

 never been able to connect po.sitively their 

 widely scattered trails with a fixed abode, 

 but I have learned that they habitually re- 

 turn again and again over the same route. 

 The male in particular is perhaps always 

 detached, leading an irregular and nomadic 

 existence. While this may be true, it is 

 seen that a relatively fixed locality is ad- 

 hered to for their liunting, and is withal, 

 considering theii- size, of very considerable 

 extent. 



Drummond Vole. 



Mic ofus drummoudii (Audubon and 



Bachman). 



Despite the drouth of last summer, which 

 doubtless had a negative effect on the pro- 

 creation of such moisture-loving animals 

 as this .species, it still remains, with one 

 exception, the most abundant mammal of 

 the region. It is found only in damp sit- 

 uations or the nearest to this condition. 

 Ranchers making hay in September on the 

 dry lake bottom west of the village re- 

 ported considerable numbers of this vole, 

 and I found their runways in the arching 

 grass of nearly all low moist places over 

 the prairie. Their mo.st fruitful habita- 

 tions are those cup-like depressions among 

 the hills which were once brimming 

 sloughs but now no moi.ster than the aver- 

 age lowland pasture. They look odd now, 

 with the precise elliptical willow borders 

 surrounding those hollow and grassy la- 

 goons. The vegetation in these places is 

 quite luxuriant, opulent with the fra- 

 grance of pennyroyal, and mysticall.y en- 

 tangled enough for any rodent recluse. 

 The ground, covered with herbage, is 

 b:cken into myriads of little hummocks, 

 among which the eccentric trails wind 

 and criss-cross about, some expunged in 

 the near distance and others winding in 

 baffling intricacy to finally disappear in 

 miniature caverns in the turf. Tlie ^ rails 



