1 8 THE FOOD OF ANIMALS 



becomes his. Certainly the vizcachas are not much injured by- 

 being compelled to relinquish the use of one of their kennels for 

 a season or permanently, for, if the locality suits him, the fox 

 remains with them always. Soon they grow accustomed to the 

 unwelcome stranger; he is quiet and unassuming in demeanour, 

 and often in the evening sits on the mound in their company, 

 until they regard him with the same indifference as they do the 

 burrowing owl. But in spring, when the young vizcachas are 

 large enough to leave their cells, then the fox makes them his 

 prey; and if it is a bitch-fox, with a family of eight or nine young 

 to provide for, she will grow so bold as to hunt the helpless 



Fig. 314. — The White or Arctic Fox [Cam's lagopus) 



quarry from hole to hole, and do battle with the old ones, and 

 carry off the young in spite of them, so that all the young animals 

 in the village are eventually destroyed." 



Foxes furnish good examples of coloration which harmonize 

 with the surroundings, and in this case serve a double purpose, 

 rendering the animals inconspicuous both to their enemies and 

 to their prey, illustrating, therefore, to speak technically, both 

 protective general resemblance and aggressive general resemblance. 

 The Arctic Fox [Cams lagopus) (fig. 314), presents this peculiarity 

 in a way which is not infrequent among the inhabitants of the 

 colder parts of the globe, varying in colour according to the 

 season. In summer it is of a gray-brown hue, with a bluish 



