OUR COMMON MINK. 37 



they would be certain to receive, in return for their au- 

 dacity, a fatal stab from the beak of the bird. Over-con- 

 fident spaniels that have been sent to retrieve disabled 

 herons have been fatally injured, and why a like result 

 should not occur when an uninjured bird is attacked I 

 can not imagine. Judging from a little experience of 

 my own with a wounded bittern, I should say the nim- 

 bleness of the mink would not avail it very much. 



Besides birds and fish, minks devour a miscellaneous 

 mass of animal matter. Much of this is carried to the 

 entrance of their nests and eaten at leisure. In one in- 

 stance I counted fragments of what I believe to be over 

 three hundred cray-fish, besides bones of fishes in abun- 

 dance, and the shells also of three painted turtles. The 

 latter were probably dead when found by the minks. 



While occasional fights doubtless occur between 

 musk-rats and minks, in consequence of their usually liv- 

 ing close together, I never had any reason to consider 

 them as u natural enemies," and as being forever at war. 

 Statements to this effect have frequently been made, but 

 such has not been the result of my own observation. 





