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An Unequal Contest
Nits general aspect, the mother-raven or crow can dislodge it in Polecat closciy resembles its ferocity. Occasionally, in its rambles, the weasel. The head is the bloodthirsty creature will venture to broad, and the snout plunt, attack the peaceful owl, which, as dewhilst the tail is by no picted in our illustration, roused from its means long, though exceed- monotony by the fangs, flies into the ing that of the weasel in night, bearing with it, like some vampirelength. The average length form, its assailant-greedy, even to its of body is about eighteen own destruction, of the life-blood of its inches, whilst the neck is victim. Soon the unequal contest ends. by no means so long and The Polecat loses not its hold, though the slender as in the weasel bird of prey swoops hither and thither, itself. The fur, like that of uttering its distressed plaints loudly to most other weasels-the family contain- the night air. The great wings begin to ing a large number of fur-producing flap, rather than to describe their charanimals-is soft and glossy. Generally, acteristic swooping curves and circles. it exhibits a rich glossy brown color. Feebler and feebler grows the exhausted approaching in its hue to black. The bird, whose life-stream trickles down its under surface is light yellow, inclining to plumage from the wound to which the white.
Polecat holds on firmly.
Adding to the detestation in which the Presently the bird, exhausted, careers Polecat is usually held, its ravenous and headlong to the earth. Faster and faster bloodthirsty character may be regarded its almost lifeless body descends, until, as a notable feature of the animal. By falling with a dull thud on the rocks that night, the Polecat will ascend trees, being fringe the river-valley below, the nighta powerful and agile climber, and will bird lies dead and bleeding, and the Poleventure into the nests of birds, from cat, bruised, shaken and severely hurt in which not even the powerful beak of the its turn, leaves the body of its victim, and creeps slowly away into the shelter and Polecat has a great desire. A highly shadows of the night. interesting fact concerning Polecat intel- The Polecat is extremely fond of fishes, ligence is recorded in the circumstance and appears to be an adept in the capture that when the animal has collected a store of frogs, it bites and slightly injures the brain of each frog so as いつ prevent WTEMPER them from hopping from the nest. In this way, the Polecat keeps its food fresh.
Bird-life suffers terribly from the ravages of the Polecat and its friends. Whether in venturing into the hearths and homes of the feathered race and seizing young and old alike, or in capturing the birds as they move a broad in search of food, the crafty Polecat shows an agility worthy a less carnivorous cause. The ground-dwel. ling birds are, of course, the chief sufferers. of even the "slippery eel." On more than | The partridges and pheasants in particuone occasion, a large number of eels have lar, fall victims to its rapacity, and in a been found in the nest of one of these poultry-yard this animal has the inhabianimals. For frogs, toads and newts, the tants literally at its mercy. The instincts which give to the ferret its special value leaves behind it, after a successful foray, in the hunting-field serve its wild ancestor a large number of victims; the bodies of in an equally serviceable manner when, some of these will scarcely have been on its own account, it tracks the rabbit or touched, whilst the only treatment to hare to its burrow. which even the most mangled of the A very few Polecats in any given neigh- prey have been subjected will be found borhood will thus act as a serious and to consist in the destruction of the heavy drain upon the animal life of the brain, which seems to be a titbit in locality;ch Polecat kills a greater Polecat estimation, affording a choice number of victims than it can devour. It dessert.
