220 The Common Red Fox, 



a dog, but a good pointer in the bargain ; he has obeyed an impulse of 

 nature, and obtained a meal in the manner in which it was intended by the 

 wise creator that he should be supplied. He seized only a single bird, whilst 

 man, who would wreak his vengence on this poacher among the game, is not 

 satisfied till he has killed half the covey with the murderous gun, or caught 

 the whole l^reed in a trap, and wrung off their necks in triumph. Condemn 

 not the Fox too hastily ; he has a more strikingly carnivorous tooth than 

 yourself, indicating the kind of food he is required to seek ; he takes no 

 wanton pleasure in destroying the bird, he exhibits to his companions no 

 trophies of his skill, and is contented with a meal ; whilst you are perhaps 

 not satisfied when your capacious bird bag is filled." * 



We have often seen the Red Fox in C:anada hunting mice or birds in the 

 fields, and at once recognise the truthfulness of the above picture. We have 

 Irequently observed his tail erected perpendicularly at the moment, and 

 during the act of springing on his prey, a habit which gives him a grotesque 

 and somewhat ridiculous appearance. 



As to the speed of the Red Fox, it is said that in the open plains in the 

 Western States, thirty gentlemen with one hundred hounds chased one for 

 thirteen hours, when the horses and the whole pack of hounds were broken 

 down, and the chase abandoned. These Foxes do not run so swiftly in 

 Canada, and Sir John Richardson says they do net possess the wind of the 

 English Fox. " It runs, says Sir John, for about a hundred yards with 

 great swiftness, but its strength is exhausted in the first burst, and it is soon 

 overtaken by a wolf or a mounted horseman. It may be that the animals of 

 this species inhabiting the prairies or open forests of the West, are more 

 accustomed to long flights, and therefore by natural habit better coursers 

 than those of the denselv wooded regions. 



The Red Fox digs an extensive burrow in a sandy or gravelly bank, 

 and provides it with a number of entrances, opening out to the surface in 

 different directions. To this retreat he flies when pursued, and when the 

 underground galleries are near the surface may be dug out, the sportsman 

 first stopping up all the openings to prevent his escape. 



The young are from four to six at a birth, and are brought forth in the 

 early part of the spring. 



The geographical distribution of the animal appears to be from the 

 Hudson's Bay Territories lying north of Canada, south to Kentucky, and in 

 a westerly direction from Labrador, across the continent to the Russian 

 aettlemeuts. 



* Audubon & Bachman, vol. 1, page 165. 



