THE MARTENS, POLECATS, AND WEASELS 641 



does not appear to be the case, and it would seem that the name <was given merely 

 from the circumstance that pine forests are abundant in many of the districts which 

 it inhabits. 



Like the other members- of the group, it is chiefly aboreal in its 



habits, and thereby differs markedly from the weasels, which are more 

 terrestrial. " Creeping from branch to branch in silent and stealthy pursuit of birds, 

 squirrels, and other small animals," writes Bell, " their sharp and long claws afford 

 them a firm and secure hold of the bark, while the long and somewhat bushy tail 

 must considerably aid them in maintaining their balance on the boughs ; the ears, 

 too, are large and open, a circumstance which is of great advantage to them in dis- 

 covering and pursuing their prey, amidst the dense foliage in which they love to 

 conceal themselves." Martens will, however, frequently descend to the ground, 

 when they will destroy mice, rats, and moles, as well as rabbits and hares, and, it is 

 said, even lambs. They are also deadly enemies to domestic poultry of all kinds ; 

 while in the neigborhood of the seacoast they are also reported to feed on mussles. 

 When domesticated, it is said on good authority that they will eat fruit. 



Although it was long considered that the beech-marten was also found in the 

 British Islands, it is now ascertained that the present species is the only member 

 of the group that has ever occurred here. Regarding its present distribution here, 

 the late Mr. Alston, to whom we are indebted for the clearing up of this confusion, 

 writing in 1879, states that in the wilder districts of Scotland, as well as in the north 

 of England, Wales, and Ireland, the marten still holds its own ; while specimens are 

 occasionally captured in districts where it is now practically extinct. Thus one was 

 shot in Norfolk in the year 1878, while another was killed in Hertfordshire in 1872. 

 In Ireland the animal was, when Mr. Alston wrote, occasionally seen even in County 

 Dublin. 

 B h M t The beech or white-breasted marten (M'.foina), formerly supposed 



to be an inhabitant of the British Islands, is generally of a grayish- 

 brown color, although the tint may vary from a whitish brown to deep blackish 

 brown, with the tail and limbs generally darker than the body. The light area on 

 the throat and chest, which may vary considerably in extent in different individuals, 

 is invariably white ; while the color of the under-fur varies from ashy to pure white. 

 The skull is also proportionately wider than in the last species, and there are also 

 certain characteristics in the teeth by means of which the one species can be dis- 

 tinguished from the other. The length of the head and body is about eighteen 

 inches, and that of the tail, with the hair at the end, thirteen inches. 

 D' t 'b t' This species is a more southern form than the last, being widely 



distributed in Europe, but not reaching either the British Islands or 

 Scandinavia ; while to the eastward it extends into Asia as far as Turkestan and the 

 Eastern Himalayas. In the latter districts examples have been procured from 

 Afghanistan in the west to Sikhim in the east, and also from Kumaun and Ladakh; 

 further eastward it appears to be unknown. Throughout the Himalayas it is gener- 

 ally found at considerable elevations, although descending as low as five thousand 

 feet in the Gilgit district. It inhabits the whole of Central Europe and Italy, the 

 warmer parts of European Russia as far as the Urals, as well as the Crimea ; the 

 41 



