THE FOXES 571 



is doubtless continued into China, although its limits in this direction, as well as to 

 the northward, are unknown. It has been obtained from Amurland. Like the 

 desert fox, the corsac is entirely restricted to open and more or less desert regions. 

 It preys largely on small Rodents, such as voles, picas, and the like, and is chiefly 

 nocturnal. It does not appear that it makes a burrow for itself, generally tenant- 

 ing the deserted hole of a marmot, which it leaves after a time for that of another. 

 The corsac is soon run down by dogs, and when tracked to its lair through 

 the snow in winter is said to remain below, and rather than bolt perish from 

 hunger. 



Indian Fox 



THE CORSAC FOX. 

 (One-seventh natural size.) 



The little-known Tibetan fox ( C. ferrilatus] , from the neighborhood of Lhasa, 

 is another nearly-allied small species, distinguished by the relatively shorter ears 

 being pale rufous instead of dark colored ; the tip of the tail being white. 



The pretty little Indian fox (C. bengalensis} , which, with the excep- 

 tion of an allied species, is the smallest of the true foxes, and is fa- 

 miliar to all who have resided in India, being often seen in the early morning 

 close to the fort at Calcutta. The Indian fox, known like the other species in its 

 native country by the name of lumri, measures only twenty inches from the tip of 

 the snout to the root of the tail, while the length of the tail varies from thirteen to 

 fourteen inches. The tail is thus shorter in proportion to the head and body than 

 in the common fox, and the limbs are characterized by their slenderness. Although 

 subject to the usual variation characteristic of the foxes, the general color of the fur 

 of this species is gray, with a more or less marked reddish tinge, there being no cross 

 band on the shoulders, and the tip of the tail black, while the ears are gray. This 



