32 2 Notes on a Collection of Mammals. [zoe 



rel I've seen in California." At another time a pair came close 

 into camp high up on Mt. Tallac and fearlessly picked up some 

 bits of bread. This species ranges higher in the mountains than 

 Schirus fossor, appearing to inhabit the Sierra from about 2500 

 feet up to 9500, or as far as timber extends. It delights in heavily- 

 wooded slopes filled with dense undergrowth. Its loud chatter- 

 ing call notes were commonly heard about Red Point, though 

 always in almost impenetrable places. 



The three specimens present no marked variation. The black 

 lateral stripe separating the gray of the dorsal region from the 

 white of the under parts is conspicuous in each, and the bright 

 orange on the upper surface of the feet is also present. They are 

 each in transition pelage, patches of new hair lying side by side 

 with the old. 



II, Sciuropterus volucella hudsonica (Gmelin). Northern 

 Flying Squirrel. 



A single caged specimen was given to me at Red Point. 

 This was the only one seen though I was told they had been 

 very numerous there the winter previous. They frequented a 

 feed stable and barn, and became very troublesome, gnawing 

 into sacks and destroying the grain. Many were caught in box 

 traps but they continued to increase until some cats were placed 

 in the barn, which routed them. Some time after, when sweep- 

 ing out the place, two dozen squirrels' tails were picked up. 

 The winter was a severe one, and plenty of food at the barn had 

 called them from a long distance. I was told by woodcutters 

 that sometimes in felling a tree, especially if the top was 

 broken and bushy, some of these little animals would soar down 

 from the top just before it fell and alight on another tree, run- 

 ning up quickly to the higher branches. During forest fires, 

 which often sweep over the mountains, the flying squirrel with 

 other animals as rare are sometimes seen. In traveling through 

 the mountains I have asked many people about this interesting 

 little rodent, but only a very few had ever seen it and many had 

 never heard of it at all. Its nocturnal habits, of course, make 

 it seem rare, but judging from the numbers found in the barn at 

 Red Point it surely must be much more common than it is 

 supposed to be. 



