Shore and Other Birds I25 



the wood-rat boldly ventures into camp or lodge and 

 robs it by the light of the moon. In almost any cafton 

 you may find the nest of this fascinating little creature ; 

 a mass of twigs and dead leaves, generally on the 

 ground, but at times in trees. When chased and put 

 to flight, the rat, which bears a resemblance to the 

 common rat, takes to the trees, and leaps from one to 

 another with perfect ease. A wood-rat which I kept as 

 a tentative pet for a while would leap from a table to 

 my desk, a distance of four feet, and a more inquisitive 

 and thieving creature it would be difficult to imagine. 

 Its robberies were bare-faced and open, and as I watched 

 it one day it took a cigar from a box and hid it, then 

 cut off a red rose larger than itself and pushed it into 

 the hiding-place after the cigar. 



On the beach near the canon you may see the print 

 of the raccoon, and possibly the clever animal himself. 

 In fox-hunting the dogs occasionally catch them. 



At night along the sands may be seen at the mouth 

 of the canon a beautiful little raccoon-like creature, the 

 bassaris, with a bushy ringed tail and large expressive 

 eyes. There are numbers of bats one very large, a 

 great variety of small birds thrushes, robins, orioles, 

 kinglets, wrens, warblers, swallows, ravens, sparrows, 

 an endless procession that fill the cafions with song, 

 while the ranches with their orchards attract other and 

 different birds. If game is hard to find along-shore, there 

 is the compensation in a variety of beautiful forms 

 always in sight. 



