ne-fifth of the length
of the body. A shrew-mouse also was caught. Two or three kinds of large
cats are said to have been seen; a _mustela_, something of the nature of
the _Lutreola_, was shot near the Rio Sacramento. The sea-otter still
abounds here, but its hair is brownish, and not black. The _Cervus
Wapiti_ is found in great numbers in hilly districts; and there are deer
in all unfrequented places. The back and sides of the latter are of a
reddish brown in summer, in winter of a blackish brown; the belly,
breast, and inside of the legs are white; the mouth, forehead, and the
exterior of the ears are black. The antlers (of the male) divide into a
fork, with round smooth branches. The animal grows to the height of two
feet and a half. Near the Rio Sacramento, and in the vicinity of the
Russian settlement, we saw herds of animals of the shape of goats, with
long hair hanging from their legs, and short straight horns; we were
unfortunately unable to obtain a specimen; we saw the animal only
through a telescope, and judged it to be the _Capra Columbiana_, or
_Rupicapra Americana Blainville_, so often spoken of. Lastly, we have to
mention a small kind of hare, not so large as a rabbit, found in great
abundance among the bushes, and a dormouse seen in the southern plains.

In consequence of the lateness of the season, most of the birds that
breed here had already left the neighbourhood; we therefore saw only
such birds as pass the winter here, and also a number of aquatic birds
that were daily arriving from the north. Of the former we met with five
kinds of _Icterus_; one quite black, except the shoulders, which were
red; these were extremely numerous, and sleep, like the _Icterus
phoenicius_, among rushes. The _Sturnus ludovicianus_ and _Picus
auratus_ of the United States, are also found in California; the
_Percnopterus californicus_, _Corvus mexicanus_, and _Perdix
californica_, are already known. A large grey crane, probably from the
north, remained here: upon the whole, the number of birds observed,
amounted to forty.

A few Amphibia were found concealed under stones; namely, a large
_Tachydromus_, a _Tropydurus_, a _Crotalus_, a _Coluber_, and four
_Salamandrides_: among the latter was one with the body covered with
warts, and a narrow compressed tail, the glands of the ear wholly
wanting; the others had long narrow bodies of about the thickness of a
common earth-worm, with short legs, standing far apart, and toes