He can leap from tree to
tree quite as easily as either of you, and the only possible means
of escape for a Squirrel he is hunting is a hole too small for
Spite to get into. No Squirrel is more graceful in the trees
than is Spite.
"But he by no means confines himself to the trees. He is quite at
home on the ground, and there he moves with much of the quickness
of Shadow the Weasel. He delights to hunt Rabbits and he covers
great distances, being even more of a traveller than Billy Mink.
He doesn't kill for the love of killing, but merely for food. If
he kills more than he can eat at a meal he buries it, and when he
is hungry again he returns to it. Like all the other members of
his family, he is a great hunter of Mice. Also he catches many
birds, especially those birds which nest on the ground. Birds,
eggs, Frogs, Toads, some insects and fish vary his bill of fare.
But unlike his smaller cousins, he eats some other things besides
flesh, including certain nuts, berries and honey.
"He isn't in the least social with his own kind but prefers to
live alone and is always ready to fight if he meets another
Marten. Being so great a traveler he has several dens. Mrs. Spite
makes her nest of grass and moss in a hollow tree as a rule,
occasionally in a hole in the ground. She has from one to five
babies in the spring.
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