MAMMALS OF MARYLAND 



151 



numbering between six and eight, are born from mid- April to mid- 

 May. Hamilton (1933b, p. 328) states that the male stays with the 

 female and assists in caring for the young. He says that he has several 

 times seen a male of this species carrying food to a den of young ones. 



Like the ermine, the long-tailed weasel is strictly carnivorous in diet. 

 Hamilton (1933b, p. 333) lists the percentages of fall and winter food 

 of this species in New York State as follows: Meadow mice 33.6; 

 cottontail rabbits lT.3; white footed mice 11.3; rats 9.1; short-tailed 

 shrews 5.9; squirrels 2.7; chipmunks 1.0; star-nosed moles 0.8; musk- 

 rat 0.8. In addition to this, a small percentage of birds and reptiles is 

 consumed. 



Specimens examined. — Allegany County : Piney Mountain, 2 (Coll. 

 U. Md.). Ann£- Arundel County: Patuxent (2 miles S), 1. Howard 

 County : Hanover^ 1 ; Long Corner, 1. Montgomery County: Bethesda, 

 1; Chevy Chase, 1; Foxhall Village (D.C.? not located in Maryland), 

 1 ; Gaithersburg, 1 ; Garrett Park, 1 ; Kensington, 1 ; Linden, 1 ; Olney, 

 1; Plummers Island, 3. Prince Georges County: Andrews Air Force 

 Base (near), 1; Bladensburg, 1; Branchville, 1; Laurel, 17; Oxen 

 Hill, 1. Talbot County : Easton, 1. District of Columbia: 8. 



Other records and reports. — Baltimore County: Bare Hills-Lake 

 Roland area (Bures, 1948, p. 66) ; Halethorpe (Hampe, 1943, p. 66) ; 

 Loch Raven (Seibert, 1939, p. 21) ; Patapsco State Park (Hampe, 

 1938, p. 6). Calvert County: Plum Point (identified from photograph 

 submitted by John F. Fales). Dorchester County: Cambridge (five 

 specimens in collection of R. W. Jackson, examined by Hall, 1951, p. 

 228). Garrett Comity : Grantsville (E A. Preble, in field notes, men- 

 tions seeing one, June 1899). Montgomery County: Sandy Spring 

 (Bailey, 1923, p. 126). 



(LEAST WEASEL) 

 Mustela nivalis allegheniensis (Rhoads) 



Putorius allegheniensis Rhoads, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia, 

 52:751,25 March 1901. 



Type locality. — 'Near Beallsville, Washington County, Pa. 



General distribution. — From Wisconsin and northern Illinois eastward through 

 northern Indiana, Michigan, and Ohio into southwestern New York and Pennsyl- 

 vania, thence southward in the Appalachians to North Carolina. 



Distribution in Maryland. — This species has not been recorded as 

 yet from Maryland, but it has been taken in nearby Pennsylvania, 

 West Virginia, and Virginia, and probably ranges through the Al- 

 legheny Mountain section of Maryland and possibly in the Ridge 

 and Valley section as well. 



Distinguishing characteristics. — A very small weasel, similar to 

 both M. frenata and M. erminea in coloration and general form, but 



