1328 



THE RODENTS 



Habits 



upper parts is brownish yellow, mottled with black, while the under parts are yellow- 

 ish, and the feet white; the tail is dusky above and whitish below, with the hair at 

 the tip blackish. 



The degus are some of the commonest Rodents in Chili, and associ- 

 ate in large companies. They are generally found in hedges or bushes, 

 and in the neighborhood of towns may frequently be observed running across the 

 highroads, while they often resort to gardens and orchards, where they commit 

 considerable damage. Their burrows are constructed in hedge banks or under bushes, 

 and those of the whole colony communicate more or less freely with one another. 

 When disturbed, they scamper off at once to seek refuge in their burrows, with 

 their tails raised over their backs. In many respects they resemble squirrels in 



THE DEGU. 

 (Two-thirds natural size.) 



their habits, climbing trees with facility, and laying up stores of food for winter use, 

 although, owing to the mildness of the climate of the regions they inhabit, they do 

 not hibernate. Their food usually consists of the various plants growing round 

 their burrows, supplemented in winter by bark. It is believed that two litters are 

 produced annually, each containing five or six young. 



There are other species of Octodon inhabiting Chili and Bolivia; and 

 in addition to these the latter country possesses two representatives of 

 the allied genus Habrocoma, so na.med from the extreme softness of the fur, which 

 approaches that of the chinchilla. The habrocomas are about the size of an ordinary 

 rat, and distinguished by their larger ears, the absence of a tuft to the tail, and by 

 the lower molar teeth being more complex than the upper ones. Another allied 



Habrocoma 



