WEASELS AND THEIR HABITS 



167 



pared to state ; but I do know that some thirty years ago 

 there were only a very few of them in the collections. 

 This large weasel spends not a small part of its time 

 during the day in the burrows of various animals more 

 particularly those of the prairie dog or prairie marmot, 

 an animal upon which it frequently preys. This species 

 is said to closely resemble the polecat of Siberia. The 

 two differ in only a few not very important characters, 

 our form having somewhat longer ears, shorter and 

 coarser fur, added to some differences in its skeleton. It 

 is at once recognized by the transverse black band across 

 the face, encircling the eyes, and by its black feet, which 

 color is carried somewhat above, or at least up to the 

 wrist and ankles. We know but little of its life history, 

 and contributions to the subject would be of value. The 



where the animal is found in the mountains as among 

 the Wahsatch it is seen to be a tree climber, where it 

 is apparently as much at home as a pine marten. These 

 weasels are capable of giving off a very powerful and 

 faetid stench; but they are nevertheless captured and 

 devoured by some of the larger species of hawks, and 

 even fed by the latter to their young. It is quite an 

 abundant species in some localities, and by no means as 

 retiring as the black-footed weasel. 



Our bridled weasel of southern Texas is another largc 

 and very handsome species with a long tail. Most of its 

 head is black, with elegant white markings (Fig. 7), 

 shading into dark chestnut brown on top. This is con- 

 tinued in a rich shade over the upper part of the body, 

 the chin and throat being whitish. It is a yellowish 



A FINE MOUNTED SPECIMEN OF RICHARDSON'S WEASEL IN THE EXHIBITION SERIES OF THE UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM 



(P. c. richardsoni) AS IT APPEARS IN ITS WINTER COAT 



Fig. 8. Richardson's weasel has a black-tipped tail in winter, as almost all weasels possess in their winter pelage. 



big prairie dog towns in the southern part of Wyoming 

 and northern Colorado are good localities in which to 

 hunt for specimens. In general coloration the animal is 

 yellowish brown above, white beneath, tinged with yel- 

 low, the colors shading into each other on the sides and 

 rump. The nose, sides of head, ears, throat, lower 

 surface of neck, belly, and under side of tail, all white ; 

 about two inches of the distal end of the tail are black. 

 Another interesting weasel is the long-tailed weasel a 

 large species with an uncommonly long tail (Fig. 9). 

 This animal is of a pale yellowish brown above, being 

 darker upon the head. Its upper lip and chin are pure 

 white, the end of its tail black, feet yellowish buff. It 

 turns white in winter, as do other weasels. In northern 

 Montana and along the upper Missouri this species is 

 found inhabiting the burrows of the kit foxes, the 

 gophers, and the badgers. This is a desert region; but 



orange beneath, and the tail has merely a black tip. It 

 is believed that this form does not turn white in the 

 winter; and, while it has many of the habits of its 

 congeners, we still stand in need of a full account of its 

 life history. 



We have another very interesting member of this 

 group in Bonaparte's weasel, with its two subspecies, 

 Richardson's and the Juneau weasel. These forms are 

 also known as ermines and stoats. The ermine or stoat 

 of Europe is known to science as M. erminea, and for 

 a number of generations it has been known to many 

 observers, as well as to naturalists, furriers, and others. 

 It is of great value economically, as its pelt forms one 

 of the staple products of the fur trade, and could, in 

 Europe at one time, only be worn by members of the 

 royal families. This law held especially in Russia, where 

 ermine tails were principally used for such purposes. 



