BRITISH MAMMALS 



hunted out of a hedgebank, and killed as it tried to cross the open road 

 by a single bite on the head. 



As far as I have noticed, voles when hunted do not lie down and 



give in like a hare or rabbit, but do their best to escape till the end. 



Weasels can cUmb well and will ascend a tree to some height. I 



once dislodged one from a Martin's nest under the eaves of my house, 



which was apparently used as a snug day-time retreat by the Weasel. 



The hearing and scenting powers of this animal seem much better 



than its eyesight, and if the sound of a mouse in distress is imitated 



by a squeaking noise of the lips, a Weasel may be lured to within the 



distance of a yard or two. I have seen one come close up to me 



on a high road. 



Instances have been known of birds of prey being killed in the 

 air by the bites of Weasels on which they had pounced. Bell mentions 

 an encounter of this sort, when a Kite had been the aggressor. 



Like the Stoat, the Weasel will occasionally hunt in company, when 

 small packs of half a dozen or so will work together like hounds. These 

 parties probably consist of the mother and her grown-up family. 



As an instance of the tiny space through which a Weasel can pass 

 its slender body, I once found one in a mole-trap with its body behind 

 the shoulders encircled by the small perforated piece of metal which 

 acts as a trigger, the aperture being only about an inch in diameter. 

 The five or six young are born in a nest placed in a hole in a wall 

 or old tree. 



In the northern parts of its range in Europe and America the 

 Weasel is said to become entirely white in winter, but this change 

 of colour does not occur in Great Britain, where the white examples 

 recorded from time to time appear to be albinos. 



78 



