FOX SQUIRREL 



They do not hibernate but may be inactive during cold 

 weather. They build large nests of leaves, twigs, pine-needles, 

 etc., and also make use of hollow trunks or decayed knot-holes 

 as home sites. Besides the seeds of conifers and acorns, they 

 also eat the bark from the twigs, mushrooms, young birds, 

 and eggs. The call-note is a bark or squall not unlike that of 

 the Eastern Gray Squirrel. 



During favorable seasons these Squirrels may be abundant 

 and seen in numbers. They seem to be gregarious and several 

 maybe noted together. The young usuallynumber three or four 

 in a litter and probably two families are reared each season. 



Subgenus Guerlinguetus. Fox Squirrels, etc. 

 Dentition: Incisors, J ; Canines, « ; Premolars, {; Molars, f = 20. 



Southern Fox SquirTeL—Sciurus niger niger Linnaeus. 



A large, arboreal Squirrel of rather variable color pattern- 

 much larger and heavier in build than the Eastern Gray 

 Squirrels; pelage coarse and harsh; hands and feet large, 

 soles naked; nose and ears always white. '* Typical Sciuru's 

 niger is subject to great variation in color and exhibits three 

 well-marked color phases. These may be called the gray 

 phase, the buff phase, and the black or melanistic phase. 

 Ihe gray phase, m its extreme form is pale smoke gray 

 above, mcludmg the tail, and white beneath. The crown 

 IS black or blackish and the nose, ears, and feet white 

 Some specimens in this phase have the feet and underside 

 of tail buff, thus approaching the next darker phase. In the 

 buff phase, the general tone of the upperparts is pinkish 

 buff, the underparts, feet, and underside of tail rich cinna- 

 mon-buff or clay color. Numerous intermediate specimens 

 connect this phase with the gray phase. The black or 

 melanistic phase— well-known as occurring frequently in 

 many species of squirrels— is wholly or partly black or dark 

 brown, except the nose and ears, which are white." 

 (Howell) Total length, 27 inches; tail vertebra, 12 inches- 

 hmd foot, 3.5 inches. Found in "Florida and the south- 

 eastern states." (Miller) Plate XXV. 



Mangrove Fox ^qnirreLSciurus niger avicennia Howell. 

 ''Similar to Sciurus niger niger but decidedly smaller; colora- 

 tion much darker (more tawny) both above and below; feet 

 clearer white (less tinged with buff)." (Howell) Total 

 length, 21.4 inches; tail vertebrae., 10.4 inches; hind foot, ^ 

 inches. Found in the "Mangrove forests on the south- 

 west coast of Florida." (Miller) 



Northern Fox Squirrel. — Sciurus niger neglectus (Gray). 

 Similar to typical niger but color usually less rusty in hue, 

 underparts generally whitish; ears never white; nose some- 



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