Information respecting Zoological Travellers, 345 



in the day time, I am inclined to think that the night is their fa- 

 vourable time for going abroad in search of food. I have had tame 

 ones that slept the greater part of the day. In their M'ild state they 

 live principally on fruits and insects, but I have been assured by the 

 Indians that they have the art of surprising small birds, and in 

 this I am corroborated by Mr. Vieth, who found animal food in their 

 stomach. In a tame state scarcely anything comes amiss ; boiled 

 rice, yams, flesh and fish seem equally agreeable to them. 



One of the Opossums of that species which I had in a tame 

 state was a female. It was kept in a birdcage of wire-work which 

 permitted me to watch its habits. I have already observed that it 

 passed the greater part of the day in sleeping, and that it fed alike 

 upon fish or flesh. It might have been in my possession for about 

 a fortnight, when one morning, on feeding it, I observed five young 

 ones of the size of a new-born mouse crawling about in the cage. 

 They were perfectly naked and blind. The mother allowed them 

 to crawl about and did not appear to care for them. Next morning 

 I found only four ; the fifth had been eaten by the mother during 

 night ; the four remaining ones had however returned to the pouch. 

 The succeeding night two more were eaten by the mother, and the 

 last two were crawling about in a helpless state, and the following 

 day fell a prey to the voracity of their unnatural mother. It is re- 

 markable, that although I had the animal longer than a fortnight, I 

 never was aware that it had young ones until I found them crawling 

 about, and it remains now a riddle to me how the mother could 

 secrete them so well. I thought her with young all the time, but 

 had no idea that they were already in a state so far advanced. Con- 

 finement no doubt was the reason of her acting so cruelly towards 

 her off'^ipring. She died a few weeks after. 



The fifth species which I have observed during my journeys in 

 Guiana is Didelphis dorsigera, L. and Temm. It is nearly the size 

 of the former, its fur of a brownish -gray, the tail thin, covered with 

 hair for about the fifth part of its length, the rest scaly, and of a uni- 

 form brown. The spot which surrounds the eyes is of a darker brown 

 than in the former, but it is distinguished chiefly in the females 

 being without an abdominal pouch, and merely provided with lon- 

 gitudinal folds near the thighs, within which the young continue to 

 suckle, or which serves as a place of security in case of danger. I 

 have seen this species in a tamed state ; it appeared however shy, 

 and was fed upon milk and bread, and plantains. They are said to 

 be very partial to the latter, and they frequent therefore the plan- 



Ann, Nat, Hist. Vol.5. No. 32. July IS40, 2 b 



