THE CAENIVORA. 55 



it belongs, are exceedingly rapid, so that it can run down 



a rabbit, as I have more than once seen it do, without 



difficulty. It is said to leap on its victim's back ; but I 



never saw this, my experience being rather that the rabbit, 



half stupefied by fear, was easily dragged down 



by the ear after a very short chase. The 

 prey. *' "^ . 



squeals of the unfortunate rabbit on such oc- 

 casions are piercing, and seem different from its ordinary 

 voice. The stoat is also known to ascend trees after birds 

 and their eggs. In the fall of the year, stoats wander in 

 packs, and are then said to attack even man, but I do not 

 remember ever coming across an authenticated instance of 

 this. 



Five or six young (as many as eight have been recorded) 

 are born in spring. 



The stoat is widely distributed in these islands, its 

 range extending to the Hebrides. Some naturalists pre- 

 fer to distinguish the smaller Irish stoat, 

 ° ' which is said to exhibit some slight varia- 

 tion in colouring. 



In appearance it is not unlike its larger relative, the 

 polecat, though its length is, with the tail, fully one-fourth 

 less. In connection with the aforementioned winter change 

 of coat, it is of interest to note that stoats have been 

 found in the southern counties in their winter 

 ppearance, ^^^^ ^^ mid-summer. At considerable alti- 

 tudes they retain, as might be expected, the 

 white coat throughout the year. 



The Weasel is the smallest British member of the group. 



Of wide distribution throughout the mainland of Great 

 Britain, it is apparently unknown in Ireland 

 and the smaller isles. The so-called " weasel " 



of Ireland is the stoat. ^ In the Xorth, the weasel is known 



1 The absence of the true weasel from Irehand has been denied by 

 many gentlemen in the ' Field ' and ' Zoologist ' ; but, as the tJien 

 editor (Mr Harting) of the last-named magazine once had occasion to 

 remark, the promised skins of Irish weasels were never forthcoming. 



