ZOOLOGY. 379 



his back. He sprang up very suddenly, and saw a panther 

 which had jumped down upon him from a tree, probably mis- 

 taking him for a calf or a deer. The brute seemed very 

 much astonished and frightened at seeing a man there, and 

 immediately fled at full speed. The panther is nocturnal in 

 his habits, and always prefers the night as a time for attacking 

 colts, which are a favorite prey with him. He is found in all 

 parts of the State where there is timber, but he never stops 

 long in any place, unless he can find bushes to hide in. 



The American wild-cat (Lynx rufus) is common in Califor- 

 nia, particularly in the vicinity of the bays of San Francisco 

 and San Pablo, where he often catehes fish and water-fowl, as 

 well as land-animals. His color is a light brown, with dim, 

 dark spots on the sides, and longitudinal lines along the mid- 

 dle of the back. 



303. Canines. The coyote is very common in the State, 

 and occupies the same place here with that occupied in the 

 Mississippi Valley by the prairie-wolf. Dr. Newberry thinks 

 the two belong to the same species, ( Canis latrans) but I am 

 inclined to believe that they are specifically different. The 

 color of the coyote has more of a reddish tinge, he howls 

 more, does not bark so much, and is more cunning. His food 

 consists chiefly of rabbits, grouse, small birds, mice, lizards, 

 and frogs ; and in time of scarcity he will eat carrion, grass- 

 hoppers, and T)ugs. He is very fond of poultry, pigs, and 

 lambs, and will destroy almost as many of them as would a 

 fox. He is one of the worst enemies and most troublesome 

 pests of the farmer. His method of catching chickens is to 

 hide near the hen-roost about daylight, and, as the hens come 

 down, he pounces upon them from his hiding-place ; and his 

 motions are often so quick, that the victim has not even time 

 to squall before she dies. In the spring and autumn, when 

 wild geese and ducks are abundant, many coyotes make their 

 homes in the tules, where they catch birds wounded by the, 

 hunters. 



