01 



RANDOM NOTES ON NATURAL HISTORY. 



iinieh excitc'cK and after devouring as many 

 as they could, proceeded to carry off the 

 lest to their hiding-places among the rocks 

 and bushes. The^- carried them, of course, 

 in their mouths, sometimes taking five or 

 six at once. That night, we could see in 

 the bright moonlight many dusky forms 

 roaming up and down the beach. It seemed 

 as if all the foxes in the caiion were come 

 to take advantage of the unwonted oppor- 

 tunity'. 



The foxes did not often quarrel over their 

 food, and even when they did, their only 

 demonstrations of anger were muttered 

 growls or hisses. On the other hand, they 

 were apparently of very affectionate and 

 playful dispositions, chasing each other in 

 sport, and licking one another like kittens. 

 Indeed, their actions and appearance, 

 strange as it may seem, reminded us far 

 oftener of cats than of dogs. They had an 

 eminentl}' feline gait in walking and run- 

 ning — gliding noiselessly and stealthil}- 

 through the underbrush, or darting with 

 remarkable agility up the precipitous hill- 

 sides. Moreover, upon tasting anything 

 disagreeable, like mustard, pepper, or salt, 

 they would nervously shake a forepaw in a 

 manner wonderfully like a cat. 



As the climate in sinnmer is ver}' fine, we 

 slept out in the open air, without a tent, and 

 not infrequently were awakened b}' feeling 

 something clambering over us, or tugging 

 at the blanket, and, as we started up, saw 

 a badlj' frightened fox scampering away 

 into the darkness. 



Although we continual!}' saw them during 

 the day, the foxes are in general of noctur- 

 nal, or, at least, of cre[)uscular habits. 

 During the evenings the caiion resounded 

 with their barkings. This bark or cvy is 

 a very peculiar and quite indescribable 

 sound ; a fair imitation of it may be pro- 

 duced by turning the iian(de of a well-filled 

 coffee mill half-way round, sharply and sud- 

 denly. The foxes commonly inhabit caves 

 and crevices in the rock, or sheltered re- 

 treats in the thick bushes, during such time 

 as they are not abroad, and one of mj' com- 

 panions once came upon one fast asleep, 

 under a low bush, during the heat of the 

 day. 



Their food seems to be of the most varied 

 and miscellaneous character. The berries 

 ol' certain i)lants are undoulitedly their main 

 reliance, and to obtain these the foxes ac- 



tually do a good deal of climi)ing, for sve 

 more than once discovered them awkwardly 

 perched in the top of a good sized bush, 

 eight or ten feet from the ground Besides 

 berries, they eat crabs, for which they 

 search diligently along the rocks at Iovf 

 tide. While walking among the hills near 

 the sea one morning I discovei'ed the half 

 decayed bod}' of an old ram, which had 

 evidently' died a couple of daj's before. 

 Upon coming nearer I observed the tail of 

 a fox protruding from a huge hole in the 

 side of the carcass, and as I approached the 

 fox came out and ran up to me, apparently 

 impelled by curiosity. He presented a 

 spectacle more easilj' imagined than de- 

 scribed ; suffice it to say that his appearance 

 afforded ample evidence of the nature of liis 

 repast. 



During the spring, the foxes undoubtedly 

 devour the eggs of the smaller birds, when 

 they are fortunate enough to secure them ; 

 the gulls, cormorants, and oyster-catchers all 

 nest on the isolated rocks. 



More than once we came upon foxes 

 blind in one eye ; sometimes both eyes were 

 half closed up. We attributed this mis- 

 fortune to the long spines of the cactus 

 (Opuntia engelmanni) which abounds upon 

 the island. 



The jays (Aphelo coma insularis) Hen- 

 shaw, do not seem to be much afraid of the 

 foxes, and we often saw amusing quarrels 

 between the two. On one occasion a fox 

 was eating a good sized piece of fish bone 

 on the bank previously referred to, and a 

 jay was perched upon a low branch about a 

 foot above his head. Everj' time the fox's 

 attention was distracted for a moment from 

 his meal, the jay would dash down from his 

 perch and try to carry off the bone, but 

 always without success, though he occasion- 

 ally captured a morsel of fish. 



Although the foxes were, as I have stated, 

 wonderfull}' tame we did not succeed in in- 

 ducing them to take food actuall}' from our 

 hands, though the}' would often approach 

 within a 3ard of us when we held out some 

 tempting morsel to them. I have no doubt, 

 however, that the}' would have soon con- 

 quered this natural timidity if we had re- 

 mained longer at the island, as we took 

 care not to frighten them in any way, valu- 

 ing too highly our remarkable advantages 

 for observing the habits of these curious 

 animals in their natural state. 



