94 TOWNSEND'S GROUND-SQUIRREL. 
birds when they clush close to the ground. 
Their greatest enemies are eagles and large 
falcons, which, ever soaring over the plains, 
or, perching on some lofty rock-pinnacle, scan 
the far distance for any moving objects on 
which to pounce. The poor sage-cocks have no 
shelter; not a tree or shrub, save the pungent 
sand-plant, is there to hide them; but their mar- 
vellous coloration compensates for lack of other 
protection, deceiving even the sharp-eyed birds 
of prey. They nest early in May; the eggs are 
laid on the bare ground, at the foot of a sage- 
bush, or under a shelving rock. They remain on 
the plains during the winter, becoming at that 
time nearly white, as do the ptarmigans. 
The only animal I saw was a small rodent, 
or ground-squirrel (Spermophilus Townsendit). 
This small but handsome little animal is found in 
ereat numbers on all these arid plains. The 
Spokan river appears to be the limit to its 
range towards the Rocky Mountains. Its food 
must mainly consist of the wild-sage and grass, 
as nothing else grows here. What its northern 
range may be I do not know, but south I have 
seen it in Oregon down to the Shasta plains. 
How it obtains water I am at a loss to imagine, 
for I have seen it often on these dry sandy plains, 
