572 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
[Oct. 13, 1906. 
“first catch your hare.” 
found in the Northern and Middle States, often 
attaining a length of ten or eleven inches ex¬ 
clusive of its tail, which is five to five and a half 
inches in length, and in both summer and winter 
dress is, for one-third of its length at the tip, 
black, the summer dress of the animal being of 
a chestnut brown. This species of weasel is, I 
think, the only one found in Nova Scotia; it is 
the Putorius noveboracensis of scientists. In the 
middle and southern New England states, how¬ 
ever, there are at least three other species. The 
least weasel, P. pusi'lus ; the small brown weasel. 
P. cicognanii, and Richardson’s weasel, P. rich- 
ardsonii. 
In one of my old note books I find the fol¬ 
lowing account of the ermine, which I wrote in 
i860. It will. I think, prove of some little in¬ 
terest to readers of Forest and Stream who 
have followed the contributions on the subject 
which have, from time to time, appeared in its 
columns. 
I his species is probably the most common we 
have; it is literally the “common weasel.” Its 
habits are about the same as those of the other 
species, but having the activity of the others, to¬ 
gether with greater strength, its powers of de¬ 
struction are much greater, as many a poultry- 
man can bear witness to. Its courage is also 
great. I have often seen it face a dog, and even 
give him battle. It has an enemy in every 
sportsman, because of its bad habit of stealing 
on a roosting covey of quail, or a brood of 
partridges or woodcock, and slaughtering every 
one possible. In seizing its prey, it throws its 
supple body over and around it, usually biting 
it at the junction of the head and spine, or 
through the skull into the brain. 
An instance that fell under my notice will go 
to show the destructive propensities of this ani¬ 
mal. A farmer living in Dorchester, Mass., had 
a fine flock of nineteen fowls. The hennery 
was built on a side of a hill, the back being dug 
into the hill, and walled up. This was a mistake 
—no poultry house should have any stone wall 
of any kind about it. it but affords comfortable 
homes for rats and other vermin, and has no 
recommendation, not even of economy. 
One evening a hen was heard squalling, and 
the farmer on going to the hennery to ascertain 
the cause, found every hen in the lot was dead, 
each with a bloody spot at the nape of the neck. 
Search was made for the assassin, but the art¬ 
ful little villain was safely hidden behind the 
stone wall. The hens were removed, a steel 
trap baited with one of the'r heads was set, and 
the weasel was found the next morning caught 
by one of his feet. He was kept caged several 
weeks, but could not be tamed. He ate greedily 
of birds, mice and raw meat, but pined and died 
of confinement. 
The great number of rats and mice which the 
weasel destroys would entitle it to some con¬ 
sideration; but the fact that it visits the poultry 
yard “with unlawful intent,” is enough for the 
farmer, who pursues it to the bitter end. 
The tracks of this animal in the snow are easily 
recognized, his run (a succession of leaps) caus¬ 
ing him to bring his hind feet into the tracks 
made by the fore feet, thus giving a series of 
pairs of footprints, about nine inches apart. 
Those who are accustomed to ramble through 
the woodlands in winter often notice these 
tracks upon the snow, and sometimes perceive 
they are following the footprints of a hare, and 
occasionally one finds a trampled and bloody 
stain upon the white mantle where the unfor¬ 
tunate victim has been overtaken and pulled 
down and possibly a portion of the quarry is 
left,,the appetite of the marauder having been 
satisfied. 
The weasel is indefatigable in its pursuit of 
the rodent, and cannot be shaken off. Of course, 
when the ground is covered with snow, the 
footprints of the hare are easily trailed by 
the pursuer; but even if the ground - is bare, the 
ermine has no difficulty in following the scent 
of its victim, which it does as persistently and 
accurately as would a well-trained dog. Like 
the other weasels, the ermine is mostly noc¬ 
turnal in its habits, although when pressed by 
hunger, it hunts in all hours of the day. 
The New Zealand Kiwis. 
Among the curious native birds of New 
Zealand and closely related to the wonderful 
moas, greatest ofi birds that have been known, 
are the little kiwis, of which there are several 
species. One of these is quite large, weighing 
from 5 to 6 pounds, another is much smaller, 
gray in color and with a straight bill, while the 
roa or Haast’s apteryx is brown in color and 
has a curved bill. The nostrils are situated at 
the tip of the bill, which appears to be sensitive, 
like that of snipe or woodcock. The kiwi is 
nocturnal in habit, and at night is swift of foot 
NEW ZEALAND KIWIS. 
BANK SWALLOW NESTS. 
Photo by W. B. Mershon. See page 570. 
and very active. Of a bird in captivity, Buller 
says: 
"It appears to be blinded by the strong glare 
of sunlight, and although it recovers itself in 
the shade, it can then only detect objects that 
are near. Night is the time for its activity, and 
the whole nature of the bird then undergoes a 
change. Coming forth from its dirunal retreat 
full of animation, it moves about the aviary un¬ 
ceasingly, tapping the walls with its long, 
slender bill, and probing the ground in search 
of earth-worms. The feeding of this bird at 
night with the large glow-worm is a very inter¬ 
esting sight. This annelid, which often attains 
a length of twelve and some times twenty inches, 
with a proportionate thickness, emits at night a 
bright phosphoric light. The mucous matter 
which adheres to its body appears to be charged 
with the phosphorus, and on its being disturbed 
or irritated, the whole surface of the worm is 
illumined with a bright green light, sufficiently 
strong to render adjacent objects distinctly 
visible. Seizing one of these large worms in 
its long mandibles, the kiwi proceeds to kill it 
by striking it rapidly on the ground, or against 
some hard object. During this operation the 
bird may be clearly seen under the phosphoric 
light; and the slime which attaches itself to the 
bill and head renders these parts highly phos¬ 
phorescent, so that, even after the luminous 
body itself has been swallowed, the actions of 
the birds are still visible. There is no longer 
the slow and half stupid movements of the head 
and neck; but the bill is darted forward with a 
restless activity, and travels over the surface of 
the ground with a continued sniffing sound, as 
if the bird were guided more by scent than by 
sight in its search for food.” 
Of some young birds he remarks that they are 
particularly savage, using their feet as weapons 
of offense, and manifesting their anger by an 
audible snapping of the bill; at other times they 
emitted a peculiar chuckle, but only once he 
heard them produce the loud whistling cry which 
is so familiar to the ear in the wild mountain 
haunts of the kiwi. They often huddle together 
when at rest, laying one upon another, like 
little pigs; and when sound asleep no amount of 
noise would arouse them. 
All the game laws of the United States and 
Canada, revised to date and now in force, are 
given in the Game Laws in Brief. See adv. 
The Forest and Stream may be obtained from 
any newsdealer on order. Ask your dealer to 
supply you regularly. 
