Notes oti the Fauna of North Western Spain. 331 



She was soon discovered and ultimately shot ooly a few hundred 

 yards from the town. 



The Alcalde of Burbia killed a large she-bear on May 25th 1892 ; 

 the father with several youngsters were still supposed to be in the 

 neighbourhood during our stay in that wretched village, but various 

 attempts to find them were unsuccessful. 



The people at Burbia all agreed that the bears, so far as man 

 is concerned, are absolutely harmless, and, when tracked, will do their 

 best to escape. This they generally manage to do, because some of 

 their sense organs, namely the ear and nose, but not the eye, are 

 very sharp. When surprised in his lair , or driven into a defile , or 

 above all, if wounded or worried by dogs, the bear's temper is up at 

 once and the tables are likely to be turned against the hunter. However 

 I did not hear of any man in the Sierra de Picos, who had lost his 

 life in a bearhunt. The bear being by choice a strict vegetarian, his 

 flesh is eaten and the smoke - cured hams are said do be especially 

 delicious. 



Mustela vulgaris, Weasel. „Mustela". 



A stuifed weasel, with a field mouse {Arvicola arvalis) in its mouth, 

 is in the Museum at Ponferrada, but unfortunately the group is la- 

 belled: »Sorex araneus — Mu^arafia" i. e. Shrew. 



The weasel is also common in Galicia. „Mustela" is also the 

 Spanish vernacular name. „Lista como una mustela" i. e. as sly as 

 a weasel, is a common saying. 



Mustela putorius. Polecat. „Furon". 

 In the Santiago Museum, from the neighbourhood. 



Mustela foina. Märten. „Gardufia". 



Santiago Museum, from the meighbourhood, also in the woods, 

 above Burbia. 



Viverra genetta. Genet. „Marta". 

 Santiago Museum, common in the vineyards of the surrounding 

 country. This little animal seems to be well known in most parts of 

 Spain and Portugal; it is called „Geneta" except in Galicia. 



Herpestes widdringtoni. 



This Ichneumon does not occur in Galicia. The Museum of Sant- 

 iago possesses several stuffed specimens, but the animal is otherwise 



