ZOOLOGY. 121 



SCIURUS FOSSOR, Peale. 



Western Gray Squirrel. 



Sciurusfossor, Piale, Mamm. and Birds, U. S. Ex. Ex., 1848, 55. 

 B.AiRD, Gen. Eep. Mammals, 1857, 264. 

 [For description and measurements see Suokley's partial Keport, chapter 2, p. 95.] 

 Immense numbers of the California gray squirrel exist on the Klamath river. They frequent 

 oak groves, and the neighborhood of the bay-leaved juglans. — G. 



Concerning this species I have nothing to add to what is written on page 95. It has appa- 

 rently not crossed the Cascade mountains to the west, in Oregon, and it is a matter of some 

 .doubt whether the species is found at all in Washington Territory. — S 



Note. — Mr. Gibbs, in a letter to me, says that he has seen in a cage, tamed, a gray tree 

 squirrel, not the S. fossor, but smaller, which had been brought from California. He saw 

 another dead, lying on the ground in the "Willamette valley. — S. 



In 1853, when descending the Flathead river, a tributary of Clark's Fork of the Columbia, 

 which meanders through the Bitter Root chain of the Rocky mountains, I saw from my canoe a 

 black squirrel ascending a tree on the bank. From some cause or another I did not obtain the 

 specimen, and was reluctantly obliged to move on, consoling myself with the hope that I should 

 ere long fall in with another. But in this I was disappointed. The squirrel was much of the 

 same size and general appearance as the common black squirrel of the Atlantic States. — S. 



SCIURUS RICHARDSONII, Bach. 



Richardson's Squirrel. 



[ForSp. Cli. and synonomy see chap. 2, p. 96.] 



The Richardson's squirrel holds the same place in the Rocky mountains that the Douglass 

 squirrel does in the Cascades. In common with the last mentioned species, they have many 

 similarities and habits, showing a marked affinity with the red squirrel. 



This species subsists principally on the seeds of the red pine of the Rocky mountains, 1 Finns 

 ponderosa. — S. 



SCIURUS DOUGLASSII, Bach. 



Oregon Red Squirrel; Pine Squirrel. 



[For Sp. Ch., &c., see chap. 2, p. 97, or Baird's Gen. Hep., Mammals, 1857, p. 275.] 



The western pine squirrel is found on both sides of the Cascade mountains. It feeds indif- 

 ferently on the seeds of the pine, fir, and arbor-vitce. — G. 



The Douglass pine squirrel, in the western part of Washington Territory, takes the same 

 position that the red squirrel does in the Atlantic States, having much the same size, habits, 

 and (excepting color) general appearance. When disturbed by the too close approach of man 

 it manifests displeasure much like the red squirrel, by chattering, "scolding," <fec. It remains 

 active throughout the winter, and is a very abundant resident. 



A fine male specimen of this species, killed at Fort Steilacoom, June 17, 1856, measured as 

 follows : 



No. 99. Nose to occiput 2. 00 inches. 



Nose to base of tail 7.50 



Tail vertebra? 4.50 " 



Tail to end of hairy tip • • ■ 6.00 



Hand to end of longest nail 1.36 " 



16 Q 



