WEASEL. 



havoc, biting off the heads of the sleeping birds, and carrying them away. In the country 

 these animals destroy great quantities of game ; they establish themselves in rabbit- 

 burrows, in clefts of rocks, or in the trunks of hollow trees, whence they come forth by 

 night to prowl in the fields. In the woods they seek the nests of partridges, and even 

 climb trees in search of prey ; they devour rats, moles, and field-mice, and wa^e a con- 

 stant war against rabbits, which they pursue into their holes. 



The Ferret (Mustela furo) very much resembles the polecat, but its body is more 

 elongated and slender, its head narrower, and its muzzle more pointed ; its colour is a 

 dun or yellowish brown. This animal is originally from Barbary ; it has become natu- 

 ralized in Spain, but in this country it is only domesticated. It is employed to hunt 

 rabbits. When let into a rabbit-burrow it is muzzled, that it may not lull the rabbits 

 in their hole, but only compel them to come out, when they are caught by a net placed 

 at the entrance. 



The Weasel (Mnsttla rnlgaris] is of a chestnut-brown colour above, white below, 

 and in length about six inches, with the addition of an inch and a half for the tail. In 

 its general habits it resembles the polecat, and is equally destructive to poultry and 

 game. In winter it usually takes up its abode in granaries or in barns, frequently 

 remaining there till the spring to give birth to its young among the hay or straw; in 



/>- 



FIG. 461. WEASEL. 



such situations it wages war more successfully than a cat against rats and mice, which 

 cannot escape because it follows them into their holes. In the spring it is to be found 

 along the banks of rivers and brooks, and conceals itself in thickets, where it catches 

 birds. It is generally by a single bite through the skull, piercing the brain, that weasels 

 destroy their victims. 



The Ermine (Mnstcla crminea} is another species of polecat. Its body is about 

 nine inches long, and its tail about four. This little animal has two coats. In winter 

 it is white, with its tail tipped with black, and bears the name of Ermine ; but during 

 the spring it changes to a beautiful brown above and yellowish white beneath : it is 

 then called the Roselet. It is found in the northern parts both of the old and new con- 



27 



