that the united efforts of the people are keeping the coyotes in check, and that, were these efforts relaxed, the animals would be far more abundant; but the coyotes are still so menacing to certain interests that the subject requires careful investigation to determine what more may be done to improve present conditions.

GENERAL HABITS OF COYOTES.

The various forms of the coyote seem each to conform to particular faunal areas. They inhabit all the life zones, from the Lower Boreal, through the Transition, the Upper and Lower Sonoran, and the semi-arid parts of the Tropical. In the northern part of its range C. latrans has a migratory movement southward in winter and north ward in the spring, probably caused by the limited food supply of the northern wilds, and varying in degree with the severity of the seasons. A similar movement of other species in the western part of the United States from the higher mountain areas to the valleys has been noticed. In summer the mountain species range above timber line.

The coyotes are noted for their peculiar prolonged howling. A single animal is capable of a performance which impresses the uninformed hearer as the concert of a dozen, and when several join in the medley the resulting noise is indescribable. They are silent during the day, but may be heard at any time between sunset and sunrise.

Coyotes breed but once a year. The mating season is late in January or early in February. The period of gestation is probably that of the whole genus Canis, which is given by Owen as about sixty-three days. The young are produced in dens, and number from four to eight or even more. The dens are usually enlarged from those made by badgers or smaller animals and are often among rocks or in washed-out places along banks of streams. Probably at times they are made entirely by the coyotes. They are rarely far below the surface, but sometimes of considerable extent and with two or more openings. Little attempt is made to provide nests for the young. In the Central West these are born early in April and usually may be heard in the dens during May. In June they come out to play around the mouths of the burrows, which are finally deserted during July. By August 1, the young are left by the parents to shift for themselves.

In the earlier descriptions, the prairie wolves were usually said to hunt in packs. Lewis and Clark, Say. Richardson, and others so reported, but the Prince of Wied met them only singly. It is probable that they hunt in numbers only when the quarry is large, as in the ease of deer and antelope; but as many as three have been known to pursue a single jack rabbit.

FOOD HABITS OF COYOTES.

The food of coyotes has been a subject of investigation by the field naturalists of the Biological Survey, whenever opportunity offered. A number of stomach examinations have been made in the field: but trapped animals are often found with empty stomachs. In the case of a number of the species nothing definite is known of the food.

The stomachs examined contained mainly animal matter, but in two cases vegetable remains were found. One examined by Vernon Bailey contained a quantity of ripe cultivated plums: and William Lloyd found a coyote that had eaten mesquite beans. In northern Arizona Doctor Merriam saw a coyote eating a watermelon, and a correspondent al Russell, Kans., says that they sometimes cat ripe melons. In California they cat peaches, apricots, grapes, and other fruits. They cat also juniper berries, manzanita berries, and the fruit of the prickly pear (Opuntia).

Only one case of insect-eating has been observed by the Biological Survey. The same animal that had eaten plums had in its stomach the remains of a large cricket (Stenopelmatus fasciatus).

Coyotes feed greedily upon all kinds of animal food. This ranges from the larger hoofed mammals to the smallest rodents, and includes also birds, reptiles, fish, and crustaceans. Three horned toads (Phrynosoma) were found in the stomach of a specimen killed June 3, 1898, in Big Smoky Valley. Nevada, by Vernon Bailey. On the low tropical coast of eastern Mexico and Texas members of the Biological Survey have often seen coyotes searching the beach for crabs, fish, and turtle eggs.

BENEFICIAL HABITS.

Among the mammals included in the food of the coyotes are many injurious species; and, so far as their food is confined to these, the animals are decidedly beneficial to the farming interests of the country. The destruction of rabbits, both large and small species, is of great advantage, especially on the plains and in the cultivated valleys, where their depredations are keenly felt by the settlers. The various species of jack rabbit have often been observed as included in the coyotes' fare, and the smaller rabbits are also habitually eaten. The coyotes usually catch the rabbits by lying in wait behind bushes and bunches of grass near their paths and pouncing upon them as they pass. Sometimes they have been known to hunt jack rabbits in company. While a single coyote would not be able to run down a jack rabbit, by hunting together, taking turns in the drive, and by taking advantage of the tendency of the hare to run in a circle, they are able to capture it. Eye witnesses to such a performance state that they do not fight over the division of the rabbit's carcass, but that all obtain a share. The constant warfare of many coyotes upon these rodents has much to do in keeping down the numbers; and the abundance of rabbits in some sections of the West has been largely attributed to a local decrease in the number of coyotes, caused by an unusual activity against them which had been stimulated by high bounties.

Prairie dogs (Cynomys ludovicianus and other species) are also a staple coyote food. The coyote captures them by hiding behind clumps of weeds or bunches of grass at some distance from the burrows. When the unsuspecting rodent, in feeding, approaches near enough, a few leaps enable the coyote to secure it. The grass in a prairie dog 'town' is usually cropped very short, and all tall-growing weeds are cut down. Sometimes a weed is permitted to grow to maturity on the cone-like mound sit the mouth of a burrow. Only three species of weeds have been seen so growing by the writer—the horse nettle (Solanum rostratum), the Mexican poppy (Argemone), and a Euphorbia (Euphorbia marginata). These afford shade to the animals, but do not obstruct the view. All other weeds, and even cultivated crops, are cut down to prevent the unseen approach of an enemy. When the cultivated crop is some rapid-growing or dense one which they can not clear away, they abandon the land rather than stay to be devoured.

But clearing the prairie dog town of weeds is not sufficient to baffle the coyote. In the absence of hiding places he takes to new methods of hunting. J. H. Gaut, of the Biological Survey, records his observations in a prairie dog town in New Mexico:

Besides rabbits and prairie dogs, the food of the coyote is known to include the following mammals:

Rice rats (Oryzomys), kangaroo rats (Dipodomys and Perodipus), wood rats (Neotoma), ground squirrels (Ammospermophilus, Callospermophilus, and Spermophilus), woodchucks (Marmota), voles (Microtus), pocket gophers (Thomomys), chipmunks (Eutamias),