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OGIST 
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AL HID 
THE ZOOL 
No. 685.—May, 1898. 
STOATS TURNING WHITE IN WINTER. 
By O. V. Apuin, F.L.8., M.B.O.U. 
On February 3rd, 1898, I examined a female Stoat in the 
flesh, which had been killed in this neighbourhood* the day 
before, and was nearly white. That is tu say, it was white, with 
the exception of the crown of the head, a space round the eyes, 
-and a stripe down the back of the neck—the black part of the 
tail of course excepted. It closely resembled one figured in 
‘The Field,’ February 20th, 1897. As long ago as 1884 I called 
attention in ‘ The Zoologist’ to the fact that Stoats turned white 
in mild winters, with reference to that of 1883-4 (Zool. 1884, 
p. 112). I then mentioned an example killed on January 19th, 
1884, which was white, with the exception of a (chance) narrow 
light brown mark on the near fore leg. Also another, white, save 
for a dark patch on the crown of the head. The change is not 
universal in all the individual Stoats in a given locality. For 
on the day I handled the above-mentioned white one (four days 
after it was captured) I saw a specimen in the flesh which did not 
show a sign of white on the upper parts. In the winter of 1895-6 
I received information of two partly white Stoats, one pied, the 
other white, with the exception of the head. In the mild winter 
of 1881-2 I observed that the change took place in some examples. 
But white, or partly white, Stoats are naturally far more common 
im severe winters. After the hard winter of 1890-1, I saw and 
* Bloxham, Oxon. 
Zool. 4th ser. vol. IT., May, 1898. 0 
