THE NATURALIST.

Otago Witness, Issue 2157, 27 June 1895, Page 49

THE NATURALIST.

Hedgehogs.

Although the hedgehog belongs to the game order of insectivorous mammals as the mole, the observations of naturalists abundantly prove that its diet is by no means confined to insects. Its food, in fact, is extremely varied, and while it evinces a partiality for field slugs, snails, worms, and beetles, there is no doubt that it preys also on eggs, chickens, young landrails, mice, young rabbits, leverets, frogs, snakes, and even vipers. It destroys not only partridgss and pheasants' egges, bat also the eggs of poultry and ducks. The method of hedgehogs in killing snakes displays caution, as if they were apprehensive, that the. anake might retaliate. Tue hedgehog gives the reptile a sharp bite, and then rolls itself up in a ball ; after an interval a second bite is inflicted, and again the animal rolls up ; after three or four such bites the snake is paralysed, or perhaps dead, ] and after another pause the hedgehog commences to eat It.Ueginning at the tail and munching it up as one would eat a stick of celery. With a viper still more caution is displayed, for the latter invariably strikes at the hedgehog on being bitten, and it requires a remarkably quick " shut up " to avoid the viper's fangs. The result in this case Is very different ; the viper repeatedly strikes against the sharp spikes of the hedgabog, , and in so doing becomes lacarated to such an extent that it eventually succumbs to ita self-inflicted injuries Ualike many of the rodents, hedgehogs lay up no stores for the winter, but pass that season in a state of hybernation or torpor, rolled np in a snug nest of dead leaves, grass, and sometimes moss. Bell state 3 that "the female hedgehog produces from two to four yonng early in the auminsr," bat the number of the yonng is oftener five or six, and they are produced in autumn as well as early | summer. Looking at the known fads, and reviewing the animal's bill of fare, it can scarcely be raid that the hedgehog is harmless. On the contrary, an impartial consideration of its habits leads to the conclusion that it is not unreasonably included amongst " vermin of the farm." But, like every living creature, it has its natural enemies, and few people are aware probably that its chief enemies are the badger and the fox. Where they dwell, hedgehogs are not likely to become too numerous.

Scsnted From Afar. — Most animals have at least one sharp sense. A deg and a cat, according to tho fable, lay in a datk room. " Hark 1 I feel sure I heard a feather drop," eaid the dog. " Ob, no," said the cat; "it was a needle. I uaw it." Whatever may be true of domesticated horses, the wild horse of the South American pampas possesses a moat acute and far-reachicg sense of smell. Mr W. H. Hudson, the well known naturalist, speaks of it as a common occurrence for the horses of a district in seasons of drought to migrate suddenly to some distant placs— so miles away perhaps— where rain has fallen. A slight breeze from that quarter is enough to Bet them off. Does Aky Fish Seek its Food Inside Akothbr Fish ?— A fish recently discovered, named Bhizorikaticns Oarolinensis, which la akin to the gsnos Fierasfer, seeks its food inside various marine animal. It dwells in the digestive tube of its companion, and without any regard to the hospitality that it receives, helps itself first to its part of everything that enters. Nothing is more ingenious than the way in which it introduces itself into its host. Profiting by the instant at which a holothurian or sea cucumber dilates its mouth, it quickly introduces its tail as far at possible. The surprised holothurian, upon feeling the unknown body penetrating it, contracts its open mouth, and the fiah is caught by the tail. Thus held, it takes care not to stir. Soon, however, regaining its confidence, the holothurian opens its mouth again, and the fish profits by it to penetrate a little farther in. The hag fish, or Myxine, bas a custom of getting inside the cod and similar fishes, and entirely consuming the interior, leaving only the skin and the skeleton remaining. AFoun pootedßibd.— That thereare still numerous chances for the indefatigable itndent and investigator to make new discoveries may be judged from the fact that the only"*known species of four-footed bird has been discovered quite recently. This curious anomaly, which could very properly bs styled an " Avis paradoxalia," is a native of the Amazon river country, its principal habitat beicg the islands of Marajo. It is only during the period of inoubation, at vrbich time the little embryo's extra legs and feeb are seen at their best, and early birdhood, that the four-footed feature is at all observable. Like the baby frog, which either "sheds" or absorbs its tail, the four-footed bird rids itself of its useless legs in the same manner, chicks six weeks of age usually boing perfectly free from any siges of the extra members. Tbe ornithologists profess to believe that this carious creature is a survival of some past geological epoch. Its scientific name is Opisthocomus cristatus. The natives call it the "hoactzln," which means the " evil-smelling bird." It is also claimed that there is not a carnivorous animal known that will taste its flesh —St. Louis Republic.