416 Mnie. J. Power on the Habits of the common Marten. 
forehead the rich metallic green of the old birds ; the two middle 
tail-feathers, however, are still webbed, but are now two or three 
inches longer than the rest. In the next state these two feathers 
have been replaced by the immensely long, bare rachides, quite 
equal to the greatest size they attain ; but there is yet no sign 
of the fine side-plumes which mark the fourth and perfect state 
of the species. I am inclined to believe, therefore, that this 
extraordinary mass of plumes is only obtained by the Paradisea 
in its fourth year, and after three complete changes of its feathers. 
This will account for the very large number of immature birds 
everywhere seen, while the full-plumaged males are comparatively 
scarce. It is singular that I have not been able to obtain a single 
adult female, my only specimen of that sex being, I think, also 
a young bird. It is exactly similar to the youngest males, of a 
cofi'ee-brown all over; but in Bonaparte^s 'Conspectus' it is 
stated that the female is dusky yellow and brown, with the 
under parts entirely white. This, I cannot help thinking, must 
be a mistake, or altogether another bird ; for neither myself nor 
my hunters have ever seen one at all resembling it, out of many 
hundreds in various states of plumage. The natives who shoot 
the birds are also quite unacquainted with it, and always declared 
that the birds of a uniform brown colour were the females. I 
am sorry I could not positively determine the point, because I 
shall probably not again visit the districts in which the Paradisea 
apoda is found. I hope, however, to obtain the allied P.papuana 
on the north coast of New Guinea, and trust to be more successful 
in ascertaining the female of that species. It is also worthy of 
notice that the long cirrhi of the tail in the full-plumaged males 
vary very much in length, and the shortest is often the most 
worn, showing that it has reached its full development for the 
year. A specimen occurs occasionally with immense cirrhi ; one 
of mine has these feathers 34 inches long, while the general 
length seems to be from 24 to 28 inches. I think it probable, 
therefore, that these cirrhi increase in length each year, and that 
the very long ones mark very old birds. The other dimensions 
of the bird, and the length of the ornamental side-plumes, are 
in all cases almost exactly equal. 
XLI. — Observations on the Habits of the common Marten (Martes 
foina). By Madame Jeannette Power*. 
Every one knows that the Marten is very wild, and that it 
inhabits the forests. As cunning as the Fox, it prowls like that 
animal round about isolated houses and farms, and enters these 
for the purpose of plunder ; its visits, which are not disinterested, 
* Communicated by Prof. Owen. 
Mme. J. Power on the Habits of the common Marten. 41 7 
reduce the farmer's wife to despair, for the passage of the Marten 
is always indicated by ravages in the pigeon-house and poultry- 
yard. It almost always escapes the traps which are laid for it, 
and all the precautions employed to protect the poultry-yard 
from its attacks. Nor does it find much sympathy amongst 
sportsmen, who regard it as a formidable rival. 
It generally feeds upon small birds and quadrupeds, causing 
an immense destruction of young partridges, leverets, young 
rabbits, and other small game. It eats dry fruits, almonds, 
walnuts, nuts, tigs and grapes. 
Wishing to study the habits of these little animals, and to 
ascertain the extent of instinct with which they might be en- 
dowed, I succeeded in obtaining a pair, male and female, which 
were caught, at the age of about three or four months, in the 
forests of Mount Etna. 
My observations soon showed me that the Marten is a very 
interesting animal, in respect of the perfection of its instinct ; 
one might say that it possesses a consciousness of what it does. 
To tame my Martens, I began by giving them their food with 
my own hands, three times a day regularly. Their food con- 
sisted of beef. At first they were rather wild; but with per- 
severance and care, I succeeded in overcoming their wildness ; 
they formed a great friendship for me, and began to mount upon 
my knees and to lick my hands ; they followed me all over the 
house, and at last they were almost always close to me. 
When I went out, I shut them up in a little room ; on my 
return, they came to me with a sad aspect, listened to me, and 
gave me to understand how weary they had been of my absence. 
I would take them upon my knees and caress them ; my caresses 
brought them to a good humour, when they would leap upon 
the chairs and tables, or whatever was within their reach. 
To make a slight trial of their natural forest instinct, I had a 
tree brought into my antechamber ; hardly had it been placed 
there, when my Martens climbed to the top of it ; but on seeing 
me return to my room, they descended from the tree in order to 
follow me. They slept upon the tree, and almost always with 
the head bent down. If I shut them up in my antechamber, 
they gnawed at the door, and cried with all the force of their 
little lungs ; I was then obliged to yield and open the door for 
them. 
When I was dressing for the evening, or undressing to go 
to bed, the Martens introduced themselves gently between the 
mattresses of my bed, with the view of keeping me company 
and passing the night with me, which did not suit me at all. 
Shortly after I obtained my Martens, the mice which we had 
in the house disappeared; but I never observed that they caught 
Ann. ^ Mag. N. Hist. Ser. 2. Vol xx. 27 
418 ^Ime. J. Power on the Habits of the common Marten. 
any. 1 even made the experiment of giving them, at one of 
their meals, the flesh of a large rat ; they smelt at it, at the same 
time making faces, but did not touch it, and went away from 
it with an air of disgust and repugnance. 
The Marten has the senses of smell and hearing very delicate. 
Mine always smelt at their meat before touching it, exactly in 
the same way as a cat. If the meat were not fresh, they did 
not eat it, came to me with an uneasy air, and endeavoured, 
by their little actions, to make me understand that they were 
hungry. When my servant came to fetch the basket in which 
he usually placed the meat which I sent him to buy for the 
Martens, they would spring upon the window-sill, and there 
watch for his return; when they saw him, they ran before him, 
jumping about with joy, and emitting their little cry, hi, hi, hi. 
One day the servant, wishing to see what the Martens would 
do if he arrived with empty hands, left the basket upon the 
staircase, and came into the antechamber. They were soon con- 
vinced, by the fineness of their scent, that he had not brought 
any meat. A very interesting scene then took place : first of all, 
they showed their anger against the servant, by grimacing at 
him and showing their teeth ; then they came to me, opening 
their mouths, and endeavoured to make me understand that 
their food had not been given to them. They mounted upon my 
knees, gave me a thousand caresses, played a thousand tricks, 
and at this critical moment displayed all the sagacity with which 
they were inspired by their instinct. I was then obliged to yield 
to their earnest entreaties, and give them the meat for which 
they were so anxious. 
Wishing to know how the Martens contrive to attack squirrels, 
and the mode of defence of the latter, I procured a living squirrel, 
and put it upon the tree ; as soon as the Martens perceived it, 
they threw themselves upon it, and notwithstanding its agility, 
it could not long escape from the cruelty of its two enemies. 
The battle was short; the squirrel was attacked, killed, soon 
torn to pieces, and devoured. The Martens only left the skin, 
the head and the intestines. 
I remarked that although they were very fond of the flesh of 
young game, they always gave the preference to beef, but they 
never ate the fat. Another very curious and interesting obser- 
vation with regard to the instinct of these animals is, that when 
my Martens saw ill- dressed people entering the house, even 
though they were in the habit of seeing them come frequently, 
they threatened them by showing their teeth, and their hair 
stood on end to the very tips of their tails. I was then called 
immediately, and was compelled to threaten them with a cane 
which I held in my hand when I was angry with them, to pre- 
Mme. J. Power on the Habits of the common Marten. 419 
vent them from springing at the face of these people. This did 
not happen with persons of my acquaintance, whose costume dif- 
fered from that of the class of people for whom they had such a 
dishke; they ran before these, testifying by caresses, cries of 
hiy hi, hi, and leaps, the pleasure which they experienced in see- 
ing them again. I cannot compare these amicable demonstra- 
tions to anything better than those of a dog towards those 
whom he knows to be friends of the family. 
They often went into the kitchen, and one day they carried 
off a fillet of beef; after eating a piece of it, they hid the re- 
mainder under my bed. I was informed of this robbery, and 
thought it necessary to watch my Martens. I soon perceived 
that they went frequently under my bed. I gave orders for an 
inspection in this direction, but they soon saw that the booty 
which they had deposited there was about to be taken from them, 
and began to show signs of discontent and irritation towards the 
servant. I was obliged to interfere, with all my authority, and 
armed with the stick, in order to prevent them from biting the 
person to whom I had given orders to carry off their prey, that 
is to say, the remainder of the fillet of beef. 
I was not long in showing them the means of cleanliness, and 
for this purpose I frequently took them into the kitchen. If this 
room happened to be closed, they got the door opened by signs, 
and then went of their own accord into a corner, where I had 
from the first caused some sand to be placed and renewed 
daily. 
It is customary in Sicily to take the air upon the balconies of 
the houses : when I did this, my Martens followed me, and 
mounted upon the balustrade of the balcony, or upon my 
shoulders, to look into the street. When they perceived any 
of my friends, they had a movement, a manner of recognizing 
them ; but if a dog came by, they put themselves in a threaten- 
ing posture ; their hair stood on end, they showed their teeth 
with contortions of the face, and uttered a slight grunting noise. 
Frequently I have seen the passengers stop to look at them, and 
many of these kept their dogs by them in order to prolong a 
scene which was truly amusing in every respect. From time to 
time, also, they gave chase to the cats ; and there was not one 
of these animals that ventured to approach my house. 
A still more extraordinary fact is the following. The Martens 
often remained alone upon the balcony, when, if they happened 
to notice one of my friends, they came into the room, and by 
means of repeated and unequivocal signs, made me follow them 
to the balcony ; but if they saw that the person turned the cor- 
ner of the street, they ran to a window which opened above the 
gate of our court-yard, where they watched and waited for my 
27* 
420 Mme. J. Power on the Habits of the common Marten. 
friend's entrance ; then they ran to let me know, by their usual 
demonstrations, and afterwards went into the antechamber ; if 
the servant was not there, they ran to seek him, just as an intel- 
ligent dog might have done. 
If, in jumping about, they happened to break a glass or a 
cup, they appeared to be quite conscious of their fault ; for they 
made their escape and hid themselves, dreading correction. 
My maid having left a ball of knitting cotton upon a chair, 
one of the Martens took the end of the thread, and mounted 
upon the tree ; in less than two hours it succeeded in construct- 
ing, at the top of the tree, a sort of net, most artistically inter- 
woven, so as only to leave very small spaces between the threads. 
I could not imagine for what purpose this pretty piece of work 
was intended. At last I understood, and calling in some boys, 
I promised them a reward if they were clever enough to catch 
me some living birds ; I gave them my nets, a cage, and some 
corn, and in eight hours they brought me eleven birds. The next 
morning I opened the cage underneath the net; several of the 
birds flew into the tree, others upon the windows and doors. 
The Martens, on seeing the birds, climbed up the tree, the win- 
dows, and the doors, killing those which they could catch : the 
chase was for some time very amusing, not for the poor birds, 
but for me, and two of my friends who were present. When all 
the birds were killed, the Martens devoured several of them, 
only leaving the feathers, the beak, the feet and the intestines; 
afterwards they hid the other birds under a piece of furniture, 
going from time to time to make sure that they were still there. 
When they were hungry, they went to take the birds and eat 
them. 
When they saw me busy writing, they mounted upon my 
shoulders, and watched for a favourable moment to steal a book 
or some papers, which they carried off to their tree with incre- 
dible velocity, or hid under some furniture. 
One day, my servant, on going into the kitchen to clean the 
plate, could not find it, and then perceived that many kitchen 
utensils and all the dusters were wanting, as well as some linen 
which was being washed; he came to me, pale and frightened, 
to tell me that I had been robbed. I went into the kitchen, 
where I thought it strange that the Martens had not followed 
me ; I called them, and they came with a timid air, trembled, 
and kept at a distance from me, and I observed that they looked 
towards a cavity under a staircase. I took the cane with which 
I corrected them, and showed it to them, scolding them at the 
same time with a severe air, and making them understand that 
they had committed a crime. They fled into a corner, and took 
a supplicating posture, on seeing them in which I could not 
Mine. J. Power on the Habits of the common Marten. 421 
help laughing. I told the servant, who understood nothing of 
this scene, to look under the staircase ; to his great surprise, the 
objects were found, and, which is astonishing, not one of them 
was broken or torn. Whilst we were busy looking over the 
different objects recovered, the Martens took to flight, and went 
to hide themselves between the mattresses of my bed; they 
remained concealed there for more than two hours, but hunger 
caused them to make their appearance. They passed along the 
wall of the room in which I was; they had a frightened air, and did 
not venture near me. I pretended not to see them. After their 
meal, they hid themselves again; I called them; they came to 
me with a pitiful look; I scolded them, and showed them the 
cane, when they began their little cry of hi, hi, hi, and came in 
a supplicating manner to lick my hands. After this, they were 
well-behaved for some time. 
If any one pretended to strike me, my Martens became ex- 
ceedingly angry, and if I had not kept them back by menaces, 
they would have bitten him. One evening, being very busy 
writing, I had my door closed. One of my friends, Mr. Pin- 
kerton, called upon me, and was told that I was not to be 
seen. In going away, he met one of his friends, who was also 
coming to see me. He told him that I did not wish for any 
visitors ; but in passing along the street, a foolish idea came 
into their heads. Meeting one of the lamp-lighters, to take his 
ladder, mount to the balcony, and enter the saloon was the work 
of a moment. The Martens went before them with the usual 
ceremonies, and then came into my study to announce that I 
had visitors; not understanding what they wanted, I turned 
round and saw the two gentlemen, when I understood every- 
thing. As I was going to scold these gentlemen, I saw my 
Martens getting angry; I ran into the saloon, and arrived just 
in time to hinder the Martens from biting a gentleman who had 
imprudently followed the example of his friends. The Martens 
had never seen this gentleman, who had been absent from Mes- 
sina whilst I had these animals, and certainly he did not expect 
such a reception. Two of my intimate friends presented them- 
selves ; the servant, knowing that I had somebody in the drawing- 
room, showed them in. The Martens went before them with a 
thousand caresses ; the stranger advanced to shake hands, but 
the Martens would not permit him, and the scene was about to 
recommence. I then took the cane, and they retired into a 
corner of the room, but still kept their eyes fixed upon their 
enemy. As it was the time for their meal, I had some meat 
brought upon a plate, and gave it to this gentleman, at the 
same time placing one of the Martens upon his knee. The 
Mai-ten took the meat with a grunting noise ; the other Marten 
423 Mme. J. Power on the Habits of the common Marten. 
jumped up close to his companion, and after their meal, peace 
was established. 
A fortnight after this incident, I heard a noise, and ran to my 
balcony. There was a crowd of people in the street, and my neigh- 
bour was telling them that she had been robbed. Being too far off 
to hear what she said, I passed into my bed-room, the balcony of 
which was close to that of my neighbour, when I was struck by 
seeing there some things which did not belong to me. There was 
a bonnet, some shoes, two cups, a glass, a watch, some flowering 
plants which had been torn up from their pots, and other things. 
I begged the lady to come into my house, assuring her that I 
would give her some information about the robbers. One may 
easily understand the pleasure which this lady experienced on 
seeing her goods. 
I told her the history of my Martens, and of the taste they 
had for stealing, at which she laughed much. I called my 
Martens, but they did not come > I looked about for them ; I 
had the mattresses removed from my bed, but they were not 
there ; at last I found them concealed at the top of the curtains, 
when they took to flight. I called them, when they came and 
received a good punishment. It is strange that they never 
touched anything either in my drawing-room or my bed-chamber. 
My Martens feared, but were much attached to me; they 
never attempted to bite me when I punished them. One day I 
was weeping for the loss of a friend ; they climbed upon me, 
caressed me, put on a sad air, and seemed to partake of the 
grief which I experienced. 
The two Martens lived in perfect friendship ; what one did, 
the other imitated, and they w^ere always together in committing 
any mischief. Sometimes, however, although very rarely, the 
male corrected his companion. 
Being obhged to quit Sicily to come to London, and expecting 
to return to Messina, I confided my Martens to the Duchess of 
Belviso ; her husband, the Chevalier Benoit, who studied natural 
history, undertook the care of them. The female, which was 
near littering, died, either from grief at not seeing me any more, 
or from some other cause ; and the male made his escape. This 
surprised me, for during the fifteen months that they stayed 
with me, they had every liberty, but never attempted to escape. 
Sometimes they crept along the wall into the street ; they then 
went close to the gate of the courtyard, and when this was 
opened, returned into the house*