Page:Babyhood of Wild Beasts.djvu/214

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172
THE BABYHOOD OF WILD BEASTS

wise, he is jet black, with the exception of a few white-tipped hairs.

Next comes the Arctic, or Blue Fox, whose coat changes with the seasons. In the Far North the Arctic fox is pure white all the year around, but farther south, he is white during the winter and bluish brown in summer. In the Aleutian Islands of Alaska, this fox remains bluish brown all the year round, and is known only as the Blue Fox. Climatic conditions make wonderful changes in the colour of the fox's coat.

The handsome cross Fox belongs to the Red Fox group and is by far the most beautiful fox in the world. He takes on the beauty points of all other foxes, and will some day receive the credit he deserves. He is marked by black legs and under parts, steel grey body and head, a bushy, black tail with a silver tip and a dark brownish cross on his shoulder. There is a reddish patch behind the fore leg, and another at the side of the neck. The Hall Island, Kit Fox, Kadiak, Newfoundland, Plains and large-eared fox come under the Red Fox group.

"The Grey Fox is the fox of the South, but it