STOAT AND WEASEL 37 



the rest a general dark brown tending to black on the legs. The dense under 

 fur is a lighter brown. The polecat feeds on birds, rabbits, hares, frogs, 

 eggs, and fish, and often kills for the sake of killing, sucking the blood of its 

 victim and then leaving the carcass. 



6. The Stoat, or ERMINE (Putorius ermineus). This mammal is often con- 

 fused with the weasel, owing to their similarity ; but there can be no diffi- 

 culty in distinguishing them if seen side by side. The weasel is only half 

 the size of the stoat, and though the general colour is the same, there is no 

 black tip to the weasel's tail. 



The stoat is about 12 inches long from nose to root of tail, the latter being 

 another 6 inches or so. The photograph (Plate VI.) shows the great length 

 of this animal compared with the shortness of its legs. As it moves after 

 its prey with relentless certainty and great speed, it appears to resemble a 

 thick, yellow-brown arrow, or a snake, hovering a few inches above the ground, 

 but going forward as if impelled by some unseen magic force. This is due, 

 first, to its method of progression, a series of bounds or gallops, and, secondly, 

 to its coloration, reddish brown above and white below (with a broad black 

 tip to the tail). In winter the colour changes to pure white, the tail alone 

 remaining black, and in this state the stoat is much sought after for " ermine 

 fur," associated for centuries with the dress of royalty or nobility. (Apparently 

 this change is not complete, but only partial, with stoats inhabiting the Mid- 

 lands and South of England, probably because of the comparatively mild 

 winter.) 



The stoat makes a nest of leaves and grass in a hole in bank or tree, and 

 the young are born about April or May. The animal hunts more by smell than 

 sight, though its eyes are large and full ; having once scented the trail of 

 a victim, it holds tenaciously to its course, and becomes a veritable Doom 

 in the inevitable end of its prey, which it kills generally by a bite at the back 

 of the head (in larger victims, the throat). 



It hunts in absolute silence ; but it has a voice, described as a low chuckle 

 or clucking sound, which is rarely heard except when it is defending its young. 



It is said to fascinate the rabbit by performing all kinds of gambols before 

 it, edging nearer and nearer to its victim until within leaping distance. 



Though it devours hares, rabbits, and eggs, the stoat kills an enormous 

 number of rats, mice, and voles, and so is, to a large extent, a valuable servant 

 of man ; the young, in fact, are fed mainly on these smaller animals. 



The true stoat is not found in Ireland, but is fairly common in England 

 and Scotland ; there is a smaller and quite distinct species some 9 inches long 

 (Putorius hibernicus) found in the sister island. 



7. The Weasel (Putorius vulgaris), 7 or 8 inches long, a graceful and pretty 

 beast, is the smallest of all the flesh-eaters, its thinness of body making it 

 resemble a snake more closely than the stoat, to which in general coloration 

 it is similar, except that there is no black tip to the tail, nor does the fur 

 change colour in the winter in Britain. 



