The Fox. 107 



height. He is rusty red in color, with a grayish 

 tinge on rump, belly, and flank, while the hairs 

 along the spine and tail are black, the end of the 

 tail being lighter in color and frequently, espe- 

 cially in males, tipped with white. Legs are 

 black, frequently white on the inside; feet black, 

 breast white, and ears tipped with black. 



The red has greater shrewdness, cunning, and 

 courage than the gray, and far surpasses him in 

 speed and endurance. He is a sociable sort of a 

 chap, seldom, if ever, found in the wilds and not 

 infrequently will make raids upon the poultry 

 yards of the residents of a city, and these expe- 

 ditions are seldom fruitless. 



It is almost impossible to describe the extraor- 

 dinary powers of this wonderful little animal. 

 He is very deceptive in appearance, while seem- 

 ingly fragile and delicate, no animal has more 

 muscular development in proportion to its size. 



The gray fox is about thirty-eight inches long, 

 gray in color, though darker along the back, and 

 sometimes almost black along the spine. The 

 sides of the neck, ears, and down the breast a 

 rusty, dirty red; tips of ears black; feet and parts 

 of legs and under surface of body, rusty red. Por- 

 tion of the throat, breast, and inner side of the 

 legs, white. Coarser hairs in tail than the red 

 fox, but not soft under coat. 



The gray lives in hollow trees and stumps, 

 and is naturally a better climber than the red. 



