Hares, rabbits, rats, voles, birds, and eggs form the food of the Stoat." 



THE STOAT 



T 



HIS destructive little animal 

 is common throughout 

 the British Isles, and 

 lives amongst rocks, old 

 dry stone walls, disused 

 quarries, in woods, on 

 furze-clad commons, or 

 wherever there is food and 

 shelter to be obtained. 



It is reddish brown on its upper parts, 

 and yellowish white beneath, with ex- 

 ception of the tip of its tail, which is 

 black, and remains so throughout all 

 seasonal changes, and in all latitudes. 

 In the more elevated parts of Scotland 

 the Stoat regularly assumes a yellowish 

 white winter dress, just as it does in 

 the more northern parts of Europe, 

 Asia, and America, but in the Lowlands 

 and the north of England it is by no 

 means consistent in this respect, although 



16 121 



white specimens are frequently met with, 

 and especially so during hard winters. 

 In the south of England I have never 

 seen a white Stoat at all. It is said 

 that white specimens are met with at 

 all seasons on some of the highest 

 Scottish mountain-tops, and I can be- 

 lieve this because I have on several 

 occasions seen blue hares still wearing 

 their white coats at midsummer. 



From five to eight young ones are 

 brought forth at a litter during the 

 spring, and wander about with their 

 parents all the summer, learning the 

 arts and mysteries of the chase. 



Hares, rabbits, rats, voles, birds, and 

 eggs form the food of the Stoat. In 

 pursuit of the last I have watched the 

 animal climb trees and bushes with the 

 confidence and agility of a squirrel. 



It appears to exercise a peculiar 



