458 THE CARNIVORES 



the Himalayas, and it is also found in Burma, the Malay. Peninsula, Siam, and 

 Southern China. Mr. Blanford states that this civet is generally a solitary animal ; 

 and that "it hides in woods, bushes, or thick grass during the day, wandering into 

 open country and often coming about houses at night. Not unfrequently it is 

 found in holes, but whether these are dug by it is doubtful. It is said to be very 

 destructive, killing any birds or small Mammals it can capture, and often attacking 

 fowls, ducks, etc., but also feeding on snakes, frogs, insects, eggs, and on fruits 

 and some roots. " Civets take readily to water. The female produces during May 

 or June three or four young at a birth, which are probably born with their eyes 

 open. Hounds and other dogs, when they come across the trail of a civet, are said 

 to leave that of any other animal they may be pursuing. 



The Malabar civet ( V. civettina), which replaces the preceding on the Malabar 

 coast, is a closely allied species, distinguised by the large transverse markings on 

 the sides of the body. 



The fourth, or Burmese civet ( V. megaspila), may be recognized by 

 ' e lve the black line of the back being continued down the upper surface of 

 the tail, in which the dark rings are continuous below, and at first not wider than 

 the light interspaces. The sides of the body are marked with rather large and 

 usually distinct spots, which may tend to coalesce into bands ; and the terminal por- 

 tion of the tail is black for a greater of lesser extent. This species seems to attain 

 larger dimensions than the Indian civet, Mr. Blanford giving the total length of one 

 example as fifty-four and one-half inches, of which the tail occupied seventeen and 

 one-half inches. It inhabits Burma, the Malay Peninsula, Cochin-China, and the 

 island of Sumatra. 



The last of the five more typical species is the Javan civet ( V. tan- 

 Is. Vein Civet 



galunga), which is closely allied to the last, but distinguished by its 



smaller size, and the incompleteness of the dark rings on the under side of the tail. 

 This species has been recorded from Java, Sumatra, Borneo, and the Philippines. 

 According to Mr. Wallace it also occurs in the islands of the Molucca group, where, 

 however, it may very probably have been introduced by the Malays, who are in 

 the habit of carrying civets about in cages to the various islands, where they are 

 bought for their secretion. Dr. Guillemard relates, on the authority of a Dutch 

 informant, that in Java a so-called "wild cat," which is very probably this species, 

 has the curious habit of eating ripe coffee berries, for the sake of their fleshy ex- 

 ternal covering. 



The last of the true civets is the rasse ( V. malaccensis} , the smallest 

 member of the group, and distinguished, as already mentioned, from 

 the others by the absence of erectile hairs along the middle of the back. As shown 

 in our figure on the next page, it is a more slightly-built and sharper-nosed animal 

 than the others, with more curved and slender claws. The ground color of the fur 

 is some shade of brownish gray or yellowish brown ; upon which there are usually 

 longitudinal dark lines down the back, and also rows of spots along the sides of 

 the body. The dark rings on the tail vary from seven to nine in number. In size 

 the rasse varies from thirty-six to forty inches in total length ; from fifteen to seven- 

 teen inches of this being taken up by the tail. This small civet is found over the 



