THE PREVOST SQUIRREL. 



" Intusschen biedt dit diertje, volgens de landen die het 

 bewoont, standvastige verscheidenheden aan ten opzigte der 

 min of meer in het oog vallende wijzigingen dezer drie hoof- 

 kleurenj zoodat men genoodzakt is, vier zoodanige verscheid- 

 enheden aan te nemen." — Prof. Schlegel on Provost's Squirrel, 

 1872. 



The foregoing remarks of a distinguished Dutch 

 naturaHst on that most beautiful of all squirrels, the 

 lovely Sczurzis />revos^i of MslRys'ia, well indicate its 

 great range of colour-variation. Widely distributed, 

 Prevost's squirrel varies in several well-known 

 phases, each according with wonderful precision with 

 a special distributional area ; while recent travellers 

 have also found greybacked and black varieties 

 occurring together in the sa7ne district. Indeed the 

 student of mammalian coloration may well pause 

 bewildered, not on account of the lack of material 

 but from its very abundance, since every class offers 

 something for consideration. Thus there is the black 

 squirrel of North America, sable above, snow below 

 — a smart little beast ; Collie's squirrel, a scheme of 

 smoke and silver, being grey and smoke above 

 with white underparts; the jelerang squirrel, dressed 

 in soft shades of blackish brown and grey ; and the 

 curious changeable squirrel {S. caniccps) orange- 



