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THE ANIMALS OF THE UNITED STATES 



animals ever attack skunks, for their pernicious habits appear to be well known 

 to every species, and their striking coloration and waving tails render them ex- 

 tremely conspicuous at a distance. They behave, indeed, as if they were perfectly 

 aware of the power they possess, and were quite indifferent to other creatures. 

 They move about in a slow, deliberate manner, occasionally breaking into a kind 

 of trot, but never seem to really hurry themselves. 



There are only two families of the Insectivora represented in 

 North America, namely, the shrews and the moles. In the former 

 group the short-tailed shrews are easily distinguished from other shrews not only 

 by their stumpy tails, but also by their ears looking as if the tips had been cut off. 

 The common Blarina brevicauda, of which there are several races, ranges over a 

 considerable portion of North America, extending as far south as Florida and 



Shrews. 



THE SKUNK. 



California. Like others of its kind, this shrew seeks its food both by day and 

 night ; and spends the greater part of its life below the ground, or at least beneath 

 fallen wood and leaves, and under roots and trunks of trees. It may be seen in 

 daylight burrowing in the snow to reach tree-stumps in search apparently of grubs. 

 In addition to the latter, its food includes beech-nuts. 



The Rocky Mountains are the home of the marsh-shrew (Sorex palustris), 

 which, like another member of the same group inhabiting the Aleutian Islands, 

 S. hydrodromus, is distinguished from other shrews by leading a partly aquatic 

 life, having long fringes on the feet to assist swimming. On account of these and 

 other differences these species are often regarded as representing a distinct genus, 

 Neosorex. The large Bendire's shrew (S. bendirei), again, is referred by 

 American naturalists to another genus Atopohyrax ; while the small S. hoyi is 

 made the type of the genus Microsorex. Other North American shrews agree, 

 however, closely with the typical European members of the group. 



