BREED- 

 ING 



BUR- 

 ROWS 



488 Life-histories of Northern Animals 



Its mating and breeding habits are entirely unknown. 



The powerful fore-feet and claws of this creature proclaim 

 it a digger. Wherever I have met with it, and that was chiefly 

 in New Mexico along the Canadian River, I found it frequent- 

 ing little hillocks that were more or less honeycombed with 

 tunnels which were i J to 2-inch calibre. In these complicated 

 burrows I always found other inhabitants, especially the 

 Kangaroo-mice {Perodipus). Whether the Onychomys was 

 intruding itself on the Perodipus or the Perodipus on the 

 Onychomys I could not determine. 



HABITS It is Strictly a ground and underground species, of noc- 



turnal habits, and is probably unable to climb at all. Bailey 

 says in the article cited: "One which I kept in confinement 

 was not full-grown when caught. From the first he did not 

 show the least fear. He took food from my fingers when 

 first offered and never attempted to bite. If not disturbed or 

 very hungry he sleeps all day, and when waked up, gapes, 

 stretches, and blinks some time before he gets fully awake, but 

 is then lively for a time, though he does not seem to like the 

 light, and if it is bright, keeps winking. In the evening he 

 becomes lively and tries to get out, jumping and scratching at 

 the sides of his cage and biting the wires of the front, but he 

 never gnaws, and though he has been a week in a thin cigar- 

 box, there is not a tooth mark on it. Sometimes he becomes 

 crazy in his efforts to get out nights and jumps about with 

 all his might, but usually, unless hungry, he is quiet and in- 

 telligent." *' Though the weather was cool, they would not 

 keep more than six hours without the hair loosening over the 

 belly * * * probably insect food caused this tendency to early 

 decomposition." 



NON- Those that I saw in New Mexico were active all winter, 



HIRER- 



NANT but I have no evidence on this point for the species in Manitoba. 

 The probabilities are that it does not hibernate, but stores up 

 food and continues alert under the grass and snow. 



