116 RODENTIA. 



store of com and other grains, which it conveys in its 

 cheek-pouches ; passes that season for the most part in a 

 torpid state. 



Inhabits Austria, Bohemia, Poland, and ^' Southern 

 Russia, from the fi^ontier of Poland to Kamtschatka ;" is 

 " less abundant in the Crimea." In Silesia it is veiy com- 

 mon in sandy hills, but is not found in many parts of 

 Germany. 



Genus SCIURUS. 



Teeth. — Incisors, ^ ; molars, ^^ ; the fifth upper 

 grinder is found only in young animals, the adults having 

 only four, above and below, their summits tubercled ; body 

 long, slim ; head small ; eyes large ; ears erect, moderate ; 

 fore-feet with four long, separate toes with compressed, 

 hooked claws ; thumb small, with a blunt claw ; hind-feet 

 very large, wdth five very long toes with hooked claws ; 

 tail long, frequently with hairs arranged in rows on each 

 side. 



Sciurus vulgaris. 



Scmrus vulgaris, Desm. Mamm. Sp. 527 ; Bell, Brit. Quad. 

 Common Squirrel. 



Desceiption. — The head is thick, rounded behind, flat- 

 tened at the sides and on the forehead ; eyes prominent, 

 high on the head ; ears straight, large, with a tuft of long 

 hairs at the tips ; the back is arched ; tail long and very 

 bushy, the hairs being distichous. Fur on the upper 

 parts reddish, or bright chestnut-brown, the red tint being 

 deepest on the sides of the head and neck, shoulders and 

 outside of legs ; the animal is said to be of a brighter red 

 in Britain than elsewhere ; the lower parts are white ; tail 

 the coloui' of the back. Grey, ash-coloured, and black 

 varieties are not uncommon. 



