THE MUSTELIDJE. 817 



vora are of small stature ; their short paws are furnished with demi- 

 retractile claws ; their body is excessively elongated, and of a 

 worm-like shape ; their tail is long and flexible, the muzzle tapering, 

 the fur soft, and of a tawny or reddish colour-, with spots or bands 

 of black or brown. 



The Mustelidse are allied to the Viven-idse in their general conforma- 

 tion. Their skin is equally soft, and capable of furnishing a beautiful 

 fur ; but its colour is generally uniform. The head is more rounded, 

 the muzzle more obtuse, the tail shorter, than in members of the pre- 

 ceding family. Finally, a great number are plantigrades. These 

 animals are more commonly distributed over the cold regions of the 

 Northern hemisphere than in countries bordering on the Tropics. The 

 genus Ratel (Ratellus meltivorus), however, is represented both in 

 India and South Africa. The Cape species is celebrated for the havoc 

 it makes among the nests of the wild bees, of whose honey it is 

 singularly fond, and to whose discoveiy it is assisted by the voice and 

 movements of a bird called the Honey-Guide. It has a rough tongue, 

 short legs, with very long claws, a blunt, black nose, no external ears, 

 a remarkably tough and loose skin, with thick hair. Its colours are 

 ashen gray on the upper parts, and black on the inferior, and its 

 length from the nose to the tip of the tail is forty inches, the tail 

 measuring twelve. The Indian species, differing but little from the 

 African, inhabits Bengal. 



CHAPTER IX. 



ANIMAL LIFE IN THE PRAIRIES OF THE OLD WORLD : 

 BIRDS AND REPTILES. 



THE savannahs and marshes of the ancient continent are frequented 

 by birds of great stature : Cursores, Raptores, and Palmipeds. The 

 colossus of the feathered world, the Ostrich, which has been aptly 



