Volume 22, Plate XIII / Mammalia (Mammals)

Weasel

Mustela vulgaris

Closely resembling the ermine but only half its size, brownish-red above and white or yellowish-white beneath, with the tail uniformly coloured to its tip rather than black, and a proportionally shorter tail. Distributed through Ireland, England, and Scotland, chiefly in cultivated districts near dwellings, it preys on mice, voles, rats, moles, small birds, and eggs, pursues quarry by scent, and bears five or six young, littering two or three times yearly.