6 EVERMANN AND CLARK 



hollow limbs or trunks on the borders of cornfields there these 

 squirrels are apt to take up their homes if there be any in the neigh- 

 borhood. Unless disturbed the same pair will occupy the same 

 tree for several years, probably until they die or are killed. 



These squirrels feed upon all sorts of nuts and are very destruc- 

 tive to the farmer's corn. In January, 1908, Mr. A. M. Evermann 

 observed Fox Squirrels near Burlington (56 miles south of Maxin- 

 kuckee) feeding upon the seeds of the cocklebur, Xanthium 

 strumarium. The squirrels would strip the burs from the plants 

 and carry them to a nearby log on which they would sit on their 

 haunches while they gnawed the burs and removed the seeds. At 

 the time the ground was covered with snow. 



So far as we have been able to learn this habit of the Fox Squirrel 

 had not been previously observed. 



6. Sciurus hudsonius loquax Bangs. 

 Red Squirrel. 



The Red Squirrel, Pine Squirrel, Chickaree or Boomer, as it is 

 variously called, is a northern species which is gradually extending 

 its range southward in Indiana. Until within the last decade it was 

 rare or wholly unknown in most parts of the state south of Logans- 

 port, though it was not uncommon in the more northern counties. 

 On December 24, 1889, one was shot near Kewanna which is about 

 12 miles south of Maxinkuckee. It was regarded as a rarity in 

 that region. About 1900 one was seen near Frankfort, about 70 

 miles south of Maxinkuckee, the first ever noted in that county. 

 We have learned from Mr. Sidney T. Sterling of Flora, Carroll 

 County, that it has recently appeared in that county. 



When we began our investigations at Lake Maxinkuckee, the 

 Red Squirrel was not common. In 1899 only one was seen, in 

 September, near Lake Manitou. On September 24, 1900, a young 

 one, just able to crawl about, was found on the ground in Farrar's 

 woods. It had probably fallen from the nest. It was taken home 

 and fed and soon became quite tame. It was not caged by us but 

 was permitted to run about the room, and soon became quite play- 

 ful and mischievous. One of its favorite positions was a seat on 

 one's shoulder where it soon called attention to itself by a gentle 



