158 BRITISH MAMMALS 



last third of the tail is black, and these hairs are almost plume- 

 like. The white coloration of the under parts commences with 

 the upper lip, and extends almost to the angle of the ear. It 

 includes the throat, chest, belly, and under side of the limbs. 

 These colours of the summer coat may persist throughout the 

 whole year in stoats found in the south of England, though 



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even in these examples there may be white patches or spots 

 occurring in the winter-time. But in the north of England 

 and Scotland (the true stoat is not found in Ireland), and in 

 the north of Europe, Asia, and America, the stoat assumes that 

 winter coloration which is so familiar to us under the name of 

 ermine fur. The whole of the creature's body is then a pure 

 white, exquisitely tinged perhaps with lemon-yellow, especially 

 near the base of the tail. The terminal third of the tail, however, 

 remains a jet-black colour, and this is made the most of in the 

 preparation of ermine fur, the vivid contrast of the black tail 

 and the white body having very early struck the Teutonic fancy, 

 and thus become associated with royal or noble dress. In the 

 midland counties of England the winter change of the stoat may 

 occasionally be complete, or it may be limited to the spreading 

 of white in irregular blotches over the flanks and limbs, 

 leaving, in some instances, merely a red-brown streak all down 

 the middle of the back. 



The eyes are somewhat larger than in the weasel, and the ear 

 conch is perhaps a little more developed. The paws are fringed 

 with such long hair that the pale-coloured claws are scarcely 

 visible, and it is difficult to count the divisions in the toes. The 

 teeth do not differ markedly from those of the polecat in number 

 or in shape. The upper canines are particularly long and sharp. 



The stoat breeds about February, and produces young in 

 about April or May. It does not seem to have a second brood 

 within the twelve months. The young, produced in a litter, are 

 not more than five or six in number. The nest is generally 

 made in some hole in a bank, or in the bole of a hollow tree. 

 It is composed of dried leaves and grass, and is warm and dry. 

 When the young are a month old, they may often be seen 



