Bonaparte's Weasel 



such times being divided in sections of brown, wliite and blaclc. 



Weasels make their homes under stumps and in the hollow 

 roots of old trees, or else they take possession of the burrows of 

 ground-squirrels, often having killed the original occupants. 



They also make use of woodchucks' burrows, particularly 

 such as have been abandoned by woodchucks for a season, and 

 later appropriated by cotton-tail rabbits, who the weasels are un- 

 doubtedly glad to find at home. 



Weasels travel by silent gliding leaps, often covering several 

 yards at a bound, their hind feet falling exactly in the tracks of 

 the front ones. Their footprints in the snow are close together 

 in pairs, one foot slightly in advance, and the pairs separated by 

 intervals of from one to ten feet or more. In soft snow their 

 slender bodies leave their impress from one pair of footprints 

 to the next. 



They are great wanderers, traveling miles in a single night, 

 and frequently being gone on long hunts for weeks together. 



Varieties of the New York Weasel and Related 



Species 



New York Weasel. Putorius noveboracensis Emmons. Description 



and range as above. 

 North Carolina Weasel. P. noveboracensis notius Bangs. Similar, 

 but darker, with belly yellow instead of white. Does not 

 turn white in winter. 

 Range. North Carolina. 

 Maine Weasel. P. noveboracensis occisor Bangs. Larger, with 

 longer tail and heavier, broader skull. 

 Range. Maine, probably to Ontario. 

 Long-tailed Weasel. P. longicauda spadix Bangs. Larger than 

 any of the above (i8 inches long), with the under parts 

 strong buffy yellow. 

 Range. Eastern Minnesota. 



Bonaparte's Weasel 



Putorius cicognani (Bonaparte) 



Length. \ i inches (female 9 inches). 



Description. Smaller, difference in sizes of sexes not so striking, 

 tail decidedly shorter — not much more than one-quarter the 



