1936] MAMMALS OF OREGON 269 



black ; stripes above and below eyes and spot on back of each ear whitish ; lower 

 parts, except buffy band across throat, whitish, heavily spotted, and blotched 

 with black or dusky; legs tawny, thickly spotted and specked; tail brownish 

 above with 1 or 2 narrow and 1 wide subterminal bars of black ; tip and lower 

 surface white. Summer pelage more reddish and less gray. Young, finely 

 spotted and striped. 



Measurements. Of type, well-made skin of adult male : Total length, 930 mm ; 

 tail, 130; foot, 170; ear, 50. Shelton in his field report gives the weight of 

 a large male as 22 pounds 12 ounces, and another male as 23 pounds. 



Distribution and habitat. This mountain bobcat is a transition 

 form, ranging between typical fasciatus and uinta, and occupying 

 both slopes of the Cascades from southern Oregon north to British 

 Columbia (fig. 60). The specimens from the yellow pine forest 

 country seem to be most nearly typical. They are rarely found in 

 the spruce and fir country of the Canadian Zone summit of the range. 



General habits. Only as their type of range differs from that of 

 the more western and more eastern forms of the bobcat do these inter- 

 mediate animals differ in habits from the other Oregon subspecies. 

 Generally they find abundance of lava-rock cliffs and caverns for 

 homes and strongholds, and do part of their hunting in the forest 

 and part in the open. Rabbits, squirrels, chipmunks, gophers, moun- 

 tain beavers, small birds, game birds, and deer are their regular 

 prejr, while the sheep herds that come into the mountains in summer 

 suffer from their depredations. 



LYNX RUFUS FASCIATUS RAFINESQUE 

 OREGON BOBCAT ; NORTHWEST COAST BOBCAT 



Lynx fasciatus Rafinesque, Amer. Monthly Mag. 2 : 46, 1817. 



Type locality. " Northwest Coast ", based on Lewis and Clark's description of 

 specimens obtained near the mouth of the Columbia, on "Netul" River (now 

 Lewis and Clark River) near Astoria, December 13, 1805. 



General characters. A large, long-legged, short-tailed cat with small feet, 

 erect, slightly tufted ears, conspicuous side whiskers or throat ruff, and dark 

 rich coloration (pi. 40, A). Skull short and wide with wide muzzle and heavy 

 dentition. Winter coat, upper parts dark rich tawny or hazel brown, finely 

 speckled with darker or blackish, obscurely striped with black on face and 

 crown and sometimes along nape and back ; sides and legs more or less frosted 

 with white-tipped hairs; top of tail rusty brown with 2 narrow and 1 broad 

 subterminal bar of black, extreme tip and lower surface of tail white; chin, 

 breast, and back of belly whitish; throat and middle of belly light tawny; 

 whole lower parts and inside of legs coarsely spotted with black. Summer fur 

 thin and harsh and more reddish brown. Young at birth finely striped and 

 blotched above, coarsely spotted on sides and belly and striped on throat and 

 cheeks. 



Measurements. Large male from Blue River, Oreg., measured by hunter: 

 Total length, 915 mm; tail, 178; foot, 203; ear (dry), 63; tassel, 15; side 

 whiskers, 65 ; in inches, length, 36 ; tail, 7 ; foot, 8. A well-made skin of male 

 from Estacada measures 36; 6; 7 inches. Weight of large males said to be 

 from 20 to 23 pounds. 



Distribution and habitat. This most richly colored of all our 

 bobcats occupies the humid and heavily forested area west of the 

 Cascade Mountains from southern Oregon and northwestern Cali- 

 fornia to southern British Columbia (fig. 60) . It is mainly a forest 

 dweller, living and hunting under the deep shade of tall timber, or 

 in .the dense tangle of west-coast chaparral. 



General habits. While largely nocturnal in habits, these cats oc- 

 casionally hunt in the daytime. On a clear day in midafternoon 



