THE TRI-COLOURED FOX. 255 



tions, they never assume the liveries of any Aguara, 

 and they arc, by their pupils being elliptical, true 

 foxes, wanderers in the dark ; vs^hile the others are 

 only crepuscular. 



The specimen from which we took our drawing 

 was equal in size to the cross-fox, and very like it 

 in form ; both had the back of the ears, excepting 

 the tips, fulvous, and that colour spread over the 

 neck to the shoulders ; but in the present animal 

 the fulvous passed quite round the neck, covered 

 also the whole of the upper fore legs and the joints 

 of the hind legs, mixed in a delicate tinge on the 

 flank, belly, and anterior part of the thigh, and 

 fonned the under part of the tail to the very tip ; 

 the inside of the ears, the lips, cheeks, throat, and 

 breast, were pure white ; and the nose, forehead, 

 back, shoulders, hams, and upper surface of the 

 tail, a beautiful silver-grey ; on the edges of the 

 buttocks and tip of the tail nearly pure white ; be- 

 neath the eyes these was a faint rufous mark, and 

 on each side of the nose a small black streak ; the 

 fulvous on the neck, limbs, and ears, contrasted 

 strongly with the grey and black, none of the 

 colours blending excepting at the sides and belly, 

 where the appearance had almost a coppery metallic 

 lustre. 



This fox is a native of the United States, and 

 may extend into Mexico, but is not found in South 

 America that we know of. It is said to have the 

 powers and propensities of the other varieties of 

 North America. 



