THE SQUIRREL FAMILY 



(Sciuridce) 



HO does not know and like the Squirrels ? Busy, frisking, bright-eyed and 

 graceful, they are among the most interesting neighbors of the woodland. 

 In our public parks they easily become so tame as to approach the passer-by 

 and " hold him up " for food. And yet the Squirrels if unrestricted might 

 become a pest. Their gnawing habits and their tendency to rob birds' nests 

 are points against them. In England they have not been protected or made 

 such pets, as in this country. 



Members of this family include the Squirrels, Flying Squirrels, Ground 

 Squirrels, Chipmunks, Marmots, and Prairie Dogs. Their chief family 

 resemblances are rounded and bushy tails which are never scaled. They have 

 twelve or thirteen ribs. Their first upper premolar teeth are very small. 



The family is a large one with members widely scattered. 



EASTERN GRAY SQUIRREL 

 Sciurus carolinensis Cinclin 



General Description. — A large, bushy-tailed arbor- 

 eal Snuirrcl. Head rounded ; ears of moderate heiglit. 

 covered with short hairs ; body large but not heavy : 

 tail about half the total length, very broad and bushy; 

 legs fairly short ; color yellowish-rusty above ; white 

 below ; pelage soft. An animal of much more quiet 

 behavior than the Red Squirrel. 



Dental Formula. — Incisors, 



Canines, 



Premolars, 



Molars, 



3—3 



22. 



I— I ■ 3-3 



Pelage. — Adults: Sexes similar. Summer. Above 

 dark yellowish-rusty ; hairs on tail yellow at base, then 

 black, finally tipped with white ; underparts white ; ear 

 yellowish-white; soles of feet usually naked. It'iiilrr. 

 Much the same. Young: Uniformly grayish. 



Measurements. — Total length, i8 inches ; tail verte- 

 brae, 8.5 inches ; hind foot, 2.51 inches. 



Range. — Eastern United States from southern New- 

 York to northern Florida, west to Indiana, Missouri, 

 and Oklahoma. 



Food. — Xuts and acorns. 



Rel.\ted Subspecies 



Eastern Gray Squirrel, or Carolina Gray Squirrel. 



— Sciunis caroliitcitsis carolinensis Gmelin. Typical 

 form of the above description. Timbered regions from 

 Florida north to lower Hudson Valley, west through 

 the Alleghenies south of Pennsylvania to Indiana, Mis- 

 souri, Oklahoma and the edge of the Plains. 



Northern Gray Squirrel. — Sciurus carolinensis Icu- 

 cotis (Gapper). Larger and grayer; black individuals 

 not uncommon in this variety. Northeastern United 

 States and southern Canada from Illinois. Indiana and 

 Pennsylvania northward to 46° latitude, and west to 

 Minnesota and Iowa. 



Florida Gray Squirrel. — Sciunis carolinensis exti- 

 mus Bangs. Smallest of Eastern Gray Squirrels. 

 Color lighter and grayer than Carolina Gray Squirrel. 

 Southern Florida. 



The Eastern Gray Squirrels range from New 

 York south along the entire Atlantic seaboard 

 and as far west as the edge of the Plains. The 

 group is divided into five sub-species, based 

 mainly on color cliaracters and size diflferences. 

 Some of these sub-species have a black color 



phase or melanistic form in which the animal is 

 black all over, but these are rarer. 



The home of the Gray Squirrel in the East 

 is usually to be found in the hollow of a maple, 

 birch, or beech tree, with the entrance among 

 the branches forty to sixtv feet from the around. 



162I 



