OTHER SOUTH AMERICAN SPECIES 559 



them. In hunting, this dog runs with its nose close to the ground, after the man- 

 ner of a foxhound, but will at times raise its head to the wind. For the greater 

 part of the year Azara's dog is a solitary animal, but during the winter pairs of 

 male and females go together. The young are born in the spring, and generally 

 comprise from three to four in a litter. The lair may be formed either beneath the 

 cover of a thick bush, or in the deserted hole of another animal, such as an arma- 

 dillo, but it does not appear that the aguarachay (as this species is termed in South 

 America) ever burrows for itself. 



The crab-eating dog (C cancrivorus} , is a rather larger species than 

 Crab-Eating , , . . . ., 



D the last, sometimes attaining a considerable size, and having a rela- 



tively shorter muzzle and tail. It inhabits the regions from Guiana 

 and Demerara to La Plata, although said to be unknown on the Pampas. The color 

 is subject to great individual variation, but, according to Mivart, its prevading tint 

 may be either a uniform light reddish grey, or darker and mottled. It may have a 

 black back and bright red legs, or may be a dull gray, with very little black, or gray 

 with a very black back. The most normal tint seems to be a brownish gray above, 

 with the crown of the head, sides of the body, and outside of the limbs slightly or 

 strongly rufous. There is generally more or less black on the back and the upper 

 surface of the tail, while the end of the tail is always black. The reddish-brown 

 ears have not the black tips of the preceding species. The carasissi, as this dog is 

 called in some parts, is a forest or jungle-dwelling species, feeding not only upon 

 Rodents and birds but likewise upon crustaceans, and thus earning its common Eng- 

 lish title. It is stated that these animals will collect in packs and run down and 

 kill deer ; and they do much damage to poultry in inhabited districts. Although 

 when hunting in the woods they follow their prey by scent, it is stated that when in 

 the open they hunt by sight. 



The largest and handsomest of the South American fox-like species, 

 is the colpeo ( C. magellanicus) , from Tierra del Fuego and Chili. 

 This is somewhat superior in size to the largest individuals of the preceding species, 

 from which it it distinguished by its longer and more pointed nose, and the great 

 length of the more bushy tail. The coloration is, moreover, generally of a more 

 decidedly reddish hue. Like the other species, there is considerable individual 

 variation both as regards the color and length of the fur. Generally, the sides of 

 the body are brownish gray, while the back is mottled with black, and the limbs 

 are more or less rufous ; the cheeks, throat, under surface of the lower jaw, and the 

 under parts being yellowish white. The ears are dark externally; while the bushy 

 tail is of a light reddish gray, except the tip and a patch on the upper surface near 

 the root, which are black. The colpeo, as Darwin remarks, inhabits alike the 

 moist forests of Tierra del Fuego and the arid deserts of Northern Chili. It is very 

 destructive to poultry; and, though to a large extent nocturnal, may frequently be 

 seen during the daytime. 



Our knowledge of the very remarkable species known as the short- 

 Short-Ea eared dog (C. microtis) is limited to a single specimen, formerly ex- 



hibited in the London Zoological Society's Gardens, and believed to 

 have come from the valley of the Amazon. This animal was about the size of 



