Part IL] NATURAL ENEMIES OF BIRDS. 227 



Minks {Mustela vison lison and Mustela vison lutreocephala) . 



The mink may be regarded as a large, robust, water-loving 

 weasel. It feeds largely on fish, mussels and other aquatic 

 forms of life, on muskrats, rats, mice and other small mammals, 

 birds, earth worms and possibly insects, but the birds that it 

 takes are believed to be mainly rails, ducks and similar species 

 that inhabit the marsh. Its predilection for fresh fish is such 

 that it sometimes becomes a serious detriment to the industry 

 of fish culture, as it is fond of trout and kills more than it can 

 eat. 



People living on streams that are frequented by minks occa- 

 sionally lose large numbers of ducks or chickens. Minks have 

 been known to kill from thirty to forty of these fowls in a 

 single night. The high price of its fur acts as a continual 

 bounty for the destruction of the mink, and its numbers are 

 not very large. 



Weasels {Mustela novehoracensis novehoracensis and Mustela 

 cicognanii cicognanii) . 



In all my observation and research very little conclusive 

 evidence has been found to convict weasels of destroying wild 

 birds. European naturalists assert that weasels kill birds and 

 suck eggs, but give little proof of it, and American writers 

 have passed their statements along. Field observers seem to 

 have seen very little destruction of birds by weasels. I have 

 tracked and followed weasels for miles, and never yet have 

 seen any evidence of the killing of a wild bird or the destruc- 

 tion of nests or eggs. They are, nevertheless, in proportion 

 to their size the most rapacious of all mammals that roam the 

 woods. Their thirst for blood seems insatiable, and, like the 

 domestic cat, they often kill apparently for the mere joy of 

 killing or for the pleasure of sucking blood, leaving their vic- 

 tims to lie where they fall. No fiercer slayers exist. Size con^ 

 sidered, their courage and strength are greater than that of 

 the lion or the tiger. They follow their prey by scent, and are 

 as keen as bloodhounds on the trail. Their chief food supply 

 in my experience consists of rats and mice, particularly white- 



