THE RED SQUIRREL KLUGH 515 



The favorite beverage of the red squirrel is unquestionably the 

 sap of the sugar maple, and in early spring in the maple-beech 

 woods, in the mixed forests, and wherever this tree occurs, they 

 spend a large part of their time drinking sap. They obtain this sap 

 in three ways : From that which runs down the underside of branches 

 which have been broken off by the winds of late autumn and winter, 

 from the holes drilled by the yellow-bellied sapsucker, and from 

 incisions which they make for themselves. The former source of 

 the sap flow is by far the most important, as a heavy flow of sap 

 often proceeds from the ends of these broken branches, and in avail- 

 ing themselves of it the squirrels hang on to the underside of limbs, 

 both small and large, as shown in Plate 5, Figure 1. In maintaining 

 this position on the under side of large limbs they rely chiefly on 

 their hind legs, and there is a decided outward bend in these legs at 

 the tarsal joint which evidently enables the claws to catch the crevices 

 of the bark more effectively. When the squirrel hangs from a small 

 branch, both fore and hind feet are clasped about the branch, so 

 that the toes nearly meet on top of the branch. 



Stone and Cram (1902) refer to the incisions which the squirrels 

 make for themselves: " In tapping the maple they gnaw saucer-shaped 

 cavities in the upper side of a branch and drink the sap which fills 

 them, coming back a dozen times a day for the sweet refreshment." 

 I have occasionally seen squirrels thus engaged. 



In drinking sap they lap it up, their tongues going at a tremendous 

 rate. They also lick the icicles of sap which have formed during the 

 night. 



WASHING 



After eating anything sticky or greasy the squirrel licks its fore 

 paws very thoroughly, and then rubs them repeatedl}'^ over its nose, 

 often spending five minutes thus cleaning up. 



SCRATCHING, COMBING, AND RUBBING 



During autumn and winter the squirrels which I have had under 

 observation did not seem to be much troubled by external parasites, 

 but toward spring they had a busy time with them. They scratched 

 and bit themselves frequently, and often for some time at a stretch, 

 causing the shedding hair of the winter coat to fly in all directions. 



The red squirrel often rubs its jaw and throat along a limb, in this 

 respect reminding one very much of the actions of a cat. 



This species not infrequently combs its tail ; in doing this it sits up, 

 brings its tail forward between its hind legs and runs the hairs 

 throush its teeth. 



