52 CARNIVORES. 



Like the other members of the group, it is chiefly arboreal in its 

 habits, and thereby differs markedly from the weasels, which are 

 more terrestrial. " Creeping from branch to branch in silent and stealthy pursuit 

 of birds, squirrels, and other small animals," writes Bell, " their sharp and long 

 claws afford them a firm and secure hold of the bark, whilst the long and some- 

 what bushy tail must considerably aid them in maintaining their balance on the 

 boughs ; the ears, too, are large and open, a circumstance which is of great 

 advantage to them in discovering and pursuing their prey, amidst the dense foliage 

 in which they love to conceal themselves." Martens will, however, frequently 

 descend to the ground, when they will destroy mice, rats, and moles, as well as 

 rabbits and hares, and, it is said, even lambs. They are also deadly enemies to 

 domestic poultry of all kinds ; while in the neighbourhood of the sea-coast they 

 are also reported to feed on mussels. When domesticated, it is said on good 

 authority that they will eat fruit. 



Although it was long considered that the beech-marten was also found in the 

 British Islands, it is now ascertained that the present species is the only member 

 of the group that has ever occurred here. Regarding its present distribution 

 here, the late Mr. Alston, to whom we are indebted for the clearing up of this 

 confusion, writing in 1879, states that in the wilder districts of Scotland, as well as 

 in the north of England, Wales, and Ireland, the marten still holds its own ; while 

 specimens are occasionally captured in districts where it is now practically extinct. 

 Thus one was shot in Norfolk in the year 1878, while another was killed in 

 Hertfordshire in 1872. In Ireland the animal was, when Mr. Alston wrote, 

 occasionally seen even in County Dublin. 



The beech or white - breasted marten (M. foina), formerly 

 supposed to be an inhabitant of the British Islands, is generally of 

 a greyish brown colour, although the tint may vary from a whitish brown to 

 deep blackish brown, with the tail and limbs generally darker than the body. 

 The light area on the throat and chest, which may vary considerably in extent in 

 different individuals, is invariably white ; while the colour of the under-fur varies 

 from ashy to pure white. The skull is also proportionately wider than in the 

 last species, and there are also certain characters in the teeth by means of which 

 the one species can be distinguished from the other. The length of the head 

 and body is about 18 inches, and that of the tail, with the hair at the end, 

 13 inches. 



This species is a more southern form than the last, being widely 

 Distribution. . _ . T , 



distributed m Europe, but not reaching either the British Islands or 



Scandinavia : while to the eastward it extends into Asia as far as Turkestan and 



the Eastern Himalaya. In the latter districts examples have been procured from 



Afghanistan in the west to Sikhim in the east, and also from Kumaun and Laclak ; 



further eastwards it appears to be unknown. Throughout the Himalaya it is 



generally found at considerable elevations, although descending as low as five 



thousand feet in the Gilgit district. It inhabits the whole of Central Europe and 



Italy, the warmer parts of European Russia as far as the Urals, as well as the 



Crimea ; the western and northern slopes of the Caucasus, Palestine, Syria, and 



Asia Minor. It appears, however, to be unknown in Persia. 



