154 The Red Squirrel 
Although the chickaree is so good a provider, food 
sometimes becomes extremely scarce in the spring, and 
his hunger drives him to drink. He does not slake 
his thirst at the mountain stream, however; he taps 
a maple tree and later on a birch. With his sharp 
chisel-like teeth he makes an incision in the bark, 
either upon the tree trunk or upon the limb. Ifa 
little cavity is so situated that the sap collects in it, 
it pleases him all the better, for the task is lighter, 
and then he has more time to attend to the affairs of 
his neighbors,—and a most inveterate gossip is the 
red squirrel! I wonder if the sapsucker taught him 
to tap the trees, or did he teach the sapsucker? The 
Indians probably learned this from one or the other, 
or from hoth. 
As to homes—sometimes the chickaree builds in 
a tree top a summer house similar to that of the 
gray; but unlike the gray he occasionally passes the 
winter in his summer home, for he seems to be able 
to endure severe cold weather. Twenty or thirty 
degrees below zero does not appear to inconvenience 
him in the least, and even at this low temperature 
he will play and frisk gaily about in the light snow. 
He makes the most of the few hours of daylight, being 
abroad at nearly all times of the day, but retiring 
early. In summer, however, especially in the busy 
