VIII. ' 



The Common Red-squirrel, or Chickaree. 



Sciurus hudsonicus Erxleben. 



(L. Sciurus, a squirrel, from Greek skia, a shadow, and oura, tail, because jt sits in 

 the shadow of its tail; hudsonicus, because it was first described from one fouod 

 at Hudson's Straits.) 



Sciurus vulgaris hudsonicus Erxleben, 1777, Syst. reg. an. 



I, p. 416. 

 Sciurus hudsonicus Allen, 1894, Bull. Am. Mus. Nat. Hist. 



VI, p. 325- 



Type Locality. — Hudson's Straits. 



French Canadian, VEcureil rouge, ou de la Baie 

 d'Hudson. 



OjiB., Saut., Musk, and Cree, Ad-jee-dah-mo/ said 

 by Animeekong to mean "head downwards," 

 which is another way of saying ''tail in air." 



ChipeWYAN, Klee'-ay. 



Yankton Sioux, Kee-hah-chah. 



Ogallala Sioux, Zee-cha. 



The Family Sciuridce may be recognized among Canadian 

 Mammals, as rodents with short ears, and bushy tails (usually 

 long) : lower grinders, 4 on ea^h side. 



The genus Sciurus (Linnaeus, 1758) comprises small 

 rodents of tree-climbing habits; they, have large and very 

 bushy tails, moderatd^ears, no cheek-pouches, four fingers and 

 a knob-like thumb on the fore-feet, and five nearly equal toes 

 on the hind. The teeth are: 



T i~i 2-2 i-i . 3>-3, ■ 



inc. ; prem. or ; mol. =,20 or 2-2 



i-i i-i 1-.1 ^-^ \ 



In addition to these generic characters the Red-squirrel has: 

 Length, about 12 inches (305 mm.); tail, 5 inches (127 size 

 mm.); hind-foot, if inches (48 mm.). In ^^nitoba, Car- 

 berry specimens are largest; Lake of the Woods, smallest. 



307 



