Ratos

The rats known in Madeira are the Mus rattus, the M. norwegicus, and the M. musculus, the latter species having already been mentioned on page 412 of Volume II. The M. rattus, or black rat, and the norwegicus, or brown rat, are both common in Madeira, where they cause great devastation. The Municipal Councils once adopted some measures to destroy them. Both the house mouse and the two species we have just referred to are imported animals, and it is believed that they came to the archipelago during the colonization period. On Selvagem Grande, there is a species of rat, perhaps the Mus bárbaros, which destroys the eggs of the shearwater (see this name) and does not hesitate to attack this bird, despite its strong beak.