WEASEL FAMILY. 57 



Dr. Hart Merriam observes that " the name of fisher is somewhat 

 of a misnomer, for these animals commonly frequent deep swamps 

 and wooded mountain sides, away from the immediate vicinage of water, and are 

 not known to catch fish for themselves as do the mink and otter. However, they 

 are fond of fish, and never neglect to devour those that chance to fall in their way. 

 They prey chiefly upon hares, squirrels, mice, grouse, small birds, and frogs, and 

 are said to eat snakes. They also catch and feed upon their own congener, the 

 marten, and make a practice of devouring all that they discover in dead-falls and 

 steel-traps." It also appears that porcupines compose a considerable proportion of 

 their food in some districts ; specimens being sometimes killed with numbers of 

 porcupine-quills in their skin and flesh. Curiously enough, these needle-like quills, 

 which often exceed 2|- inches in length, seem to cause it but little or no incon- 

 venience. Instances are recorded where the fisher marten has attacked and routed 

 such a comparatively large animal as the raccoon. 



In its chiefly nocturnal and largely arboreal habits the fisher marten resembles 

 most of the other members of the group ; its agility in the forests is, however, very 

 remarkable, and when much frightened, or in pursuit of prey, it has been known 

 to leap from tree to tree. The nest is usually built in the hole of a tree at a great 

 height above the ground ; the young being generally from two to four in number, 

 and produced at the end of April or beginning of May. 



The fisher marten is trapped for its skins in the northern parts of America 

 from October till May, those captured in the early part of the season being in the 

 best condition. The fur is not nearly so valuable as that of the American marten ; 

 the usual price being about a dollar and a half per skin. In the European markets 

 the fur is generally known as Virginian polecat. 



Readily distinguished from all the other species by its more 

 ' brilliant coloration, and the greater relative length of the tail, which 

 is fully equal to two-thirds that of the head and body, the 'Indian marten (M. 

 flavigula) is the handsomest member of the group. The soles of the feet are, 

 moreover, at least partially naked, although this character is less marked in 

 Himalayan specimens than in those from more easterly regions. 



The fur is generally short, although longer in the Himalayan than in other 

 examples, and has a thick, woolly under-fur during the winter. There are two 

 varieties of this animal, one of which is more brightly coloured than the other. In 

 the former, or common Indian type, the upper part of the head and neck, the rump, 

 the tail, and the limbs, are either glossy blackish brown or black ; while the middle 

 of the back is of a paler brown, sometimes with a whitish tinge. The chin and 

 upper part of the throat are white, while the lower throat and chest are either of 

 a brilliant orange, brownish yellow, or pure yellow tint. In the second variety, 

 with the exception of the white chin and throat and the pale yellow chest, the 

 whole of the fur is dark brown. The length of the head and body varies from 

 20 to 22 inches, and that of the tail, inclusive of the hair at the tip, from 17 to 20 

 inches. According to Mr. Blanford, the Indian marten is found throughout the 

 Himalaya, from the regions to the westward of Kashmir to Eastern Assam, and 

 thence through the hilly districts of Burma to the Malay Peninsula and Sumatra. 

 In Peninsular India it occurs on the Nilgiri and Travancore Hills ; whilst to the 



