26 Wild Bird Guests 



great distances in a day, as anyone can prove 

 for himself if he will try to follow the trail of one 

 through the snow. To a certain extent, however, 

 they are the friends of wild birds since they often 

 kill other creatures, such as mice, rats, and 

 squirrels which are also enemies of birds. A 

 lady in Cornish, New Hampshire, tells me that 

 she once saw a weasel chase and capture a 

 chipmunk in an oak tree near her house and 

 then leap some ten feet to the ground with the 

 victim in its mouth. 



A year or two ago the old farmhouse in which 

 we are living had become infested with rats, 

 when one autumn morning a white weasel or 

 ermine appeared in the woodshed. For a day 

 or two after that there was a terrible commotion 

 in the walls and ceilings, as the weasel chased his 

 squeaking prey from one stronghold to another 

 to finally kill them after a last desperate scuffle. 

 Then, when all the rats had been killed or driven 

 away, the weasel came into the house and made 

 himself at home. Mrs. Baynes was kind to him 

 and he soon became tame, taking food from her 

 hand and coming up into her lap to drink milk 

 from a saucer. He stayed until spring, when 

 he left the house never to return. In spite of the 

 good services they perform, however, I should 

 not consider weasels desirable neighbors for one 



