The Weasels of EoMern North America. 19 



Putorms fnsrus And. and Bach., Qnad. N. Am., Ill, p. 1S4, pi. 140, 185.3. 

 3fuMela pusilln DeKay, Zool. New York, I, p. :',4, plate XIV, fig. I, 1842. 

 Putoriu.'^ rulgnrls var. Amerlcaua Gray, P. Z. S., p. 113, 1S65; Cat. Car- 



nivora British Mns., p. 91, 1869. 

 Puturius (Gale) ermlnea Cones, Fnr-Bearing Animals, p. 109, 1877 (in 



part). 



Ti/pe lomllt !/.—Tiastern United States. 



Geographic didrihntion. — Northeastern North America from Long Island 

 and Connecticnt north to Labrador and Newfoundland, west at least to 

 Minnesota (Fort Snelling and Elk river), and probably following the 

 transcontinental forest belt nearly, if not quite, across the continent ; in- 

 habits the whole of the Hudsonian, Canadian, and Transition zones. 



P. rlch(ir(hui)'i cicognani is the characteristic weasel of northeastern 

 North America and the only one occupying a large area in the Canadian 

 and Hudsonian zones. It extends south to the southern limit of the 

 Transition zone, but no farther. It l)egins to overlap the range of P. nove- 

 boracensls in the lower Canadian zone, and thence southward gradually 

 becomes rarer as noveboracensis becomes commoner, until it disaijpears 

 altogether in the valley of the lower Hudson. I have never seen a speci- 

 men from any point farther south. All through Connecticut, jNIassachu- 

 setts, New York, New Hampshire, and Vermont both species occur 

 together. 



General characters. — Size small; tail short, a little more than one-fourth 

 of the total length tipped with black ; feet large and broad. 



Color. — Summer pelage : Upper parts rich, dark brown, varying from 

 Front's brown to almost seal brown, examples in fresh pelage sometimes 

 having the peculiar purplish tone of seal brown ; ear often boi'dered by a 

 narrow white margin (not a lingering of the white coat, as I have often 

 seen it in the young that had never changed to the white winter dress), 

 which in worn midsummer specimens usually disappears. Southern 

 specimens are rather darker, as a rule, than northern ones. Under parts 

 usually ijure silvery white in the more southern examples, but sometimes 

 tinged witli greenish yellow in specimens from Newfoundland and Labi'a- 

 dor. The line of demarkation between colors of upper and under jiarts 

 is high up, straight, unbroken, and very distinct, owing to the great con- 

 trast in color. Occasionally a specimen can be found with one or more 

 irregular spots of brown on the chest and belly. The color of the under 

 parts covers the under sides of the arms and hands and the inside of the 

 legs and the toes. Ujjper lips always white ; tail same color as back, 

 both above and below, with a short black tij), which, including the pencil, 

 occupies about one-third of the tail ; under fur about the same color 

 as the long hair. Winter pelage : Pure white all over, with usually a 

 strong yellowish tinge on the hindquarters, tail, and belly ; end of tail 

 for a little more than the pencil, jet black ; coat long and full ; feet 

 heavily furred. The change to a white winter pelage takes place over 

 the entire range of the subspecies. In Connecticut P. richardsoni cicognani 

 always turns white in winter, while P. noveboracensis never does. 



It is rather curious that in changing back to the brown summer coat 

 in spring (the change taking ])lace in March or April, according to locality) 



