lOil] Taylor: Mamtnals of the 1909 Nevada Expedition. 301 



stream. Although not shy, any sudden movement caused their 

 rapid disappearance, either through their slipping into some hole 

 in a rotten log or by concealment in nearby vegetation. A female 

 weasel was shot near the stream not far from our 7000 foot camp 

 on Alder Creek. It was carrying the body of a chipmunk which 

 had been thrown away by us after being skinned. A white- 

 crowned sparrow was pursuing the animal, although it had given 

 no observable provocation. 



Mr. Matthew Price asserts that weasels assume a white winter 

 pelage ; this is to be expected, as the snowfall in these mountains 

 is very heavy and all the snow does not melt till late in the 

 summer. 



Sorex palustris navigator (Baird). 



Navigator Shrew. 



Status. — Although we trapped in the immediate vicinity of 

 all the mountain streams on which we camped, we found only 

 one species of shrew, 8orex p. navigator. Of this species we cap- 

 tured two adult male specimens (nos. 7881, 7882). These were 

 taken in the same trap, one on July 22, and the other two days 

 later, at the head of Big Creek (altitude 8000 feet) in the Transi- 

 tion life-zone. The trap was baited with oatmeal, and set at the 

 very edge of a small stream among fallen branches and vegeta- 

 tion. In one case the animal had pulled the trap into the running 

 water. 



Comparison of our specimens from the Pine Forest ^Mountains 

 with individuals of S. p. navigator from ^Nlount Shasta, Califor- 

 nia, and Lake ^loraine, Colorado, leaves no doubt that they are 

 referable to this subspecies. 



One of our specimens (no. 7881) seems to be abnormal in 

 several respects. Dorsally it has a distinct grayish cast to its 

 pelage, instead of the very dark, almost black coat of the other 

 examples. This may be due to the fact that, in spite of the date, 

 no. 7881 is not in the same state of pelage. Its tail is hardly 

 haired at all, widens toward the tip, and presents the same 

 curious scaly appearance that is evident on the ventral surface 

 of the feet. This scaly appearance continues to the end of the 

 tail, and is plainly discernible dorsally and ventrally. 



