THE FOXES 



569 



The Arctic fox preys largely upon birds, especially upon various members of the 

 auk family, as we learn from Professor A. Newton, who writes, that " the Arctic 

 fox is pretty numerous along the shores of the Ice Sound [Spitzbergen] ; and we 

 not only frequently saw examples of it, but in the immediate neighborhood of the 

 cliffs wherein the Alcidtz were nesting one could, by listening almost at any time in 

 the twenty-four hours, hear its yapping bark. It is of course the chief enemy of all 

 the different kinds of birds, and their dread of it appears to influence them greatly 

 in their choice of breeding quarters. What the foxes do to get a living in winter, 



ARCTIC FOX IN WINTER DRESS. 



(One-eighth natural size.) 



when the birds have left the country, is one of the most curious questions that has 

 presented itself to my mind for some time. The greater number of them are said 

 to remain on the land and to be as active during the long polar night as they are in 

 summer ; yet there are no berries by which they might eke out their existence, and 

 there can be no open water, on the margin of which they might find food within 

 miles of their haunts. The most natural explanation that occurs to one is that they 

 lay up a stock of provisions ; but nobody, that I am aware of, has ever found such 

 a store-closet. ' ' Not only does this fox prey upon the Arctic birds themselves, but 

 it also robs their eggs. Dr. Packard, when describing his experiences in Northern 



