SCIURUS. 279 
SizeE.—Head and body, 13% inches; tail, 11 inches. 
This squirrel also varies greatly in colouring, and has led several 
naturalists astray. Kellaart, in his ‘ Prodromus Faunze Zeylanice,’ says 
he has seen them in a transition state from dark brown to grizzled grey. 
No. 276. ScIURUS GIGANTEUS. 
The Black Hill Squirrel (Sciurus macrouroides in Jerdon, No. 151). 
Native Names. Shingsham, Bhotia; Le-hyuk, Lepcha; /Jelarang, 
Javanese ; Chingkrawah-ctam, Malay ; Leng-thet, in Arakan; Sheu, 
in Tenasserim. 
Hasirat.—North-west Himalayas to Assam, the Garo hills, Sylhet, 
and Cachar, spreading from Northern Assam across to Yunnan, and 
through Arakan and Tenasserim on to the Malayan peninsula and 
Borneo. 
_ DEscription.—“ This species has well-tufted ears ; the upper surface 
is either wholly black or reddish-brown, without any trace of white ; the 
tail is generally jet black, also the outside of the fore and hind limbs, 
and the upper surface of the feet ; an elongated black spot is almost 
invariably found below the eye from beyond the moustache, and the eye 
is encircled with black. There are generally two black spots on the 
under surface of the chin ; the under parts and the inside of the limbs 
vary from pale yellowish-white to a rich rufous orange; the basal 
portion of the hairs of the under-parts is dark brown or black, and the 
ventral area has frequently a dull hue where the yellow tips are sparse ; 
the coats of these squirrels are generally sleek, glossy and deep black, 
and while in this condition the under surface is most brilliant, especially 
at its line of junction with the black, along the sides of the body and 
limbs, tending to form a kind of bright band. 
“In some the upper parts have a brownish ‘hue, but this is not 
characteristic of any particular locality, as two individuals, one from 
Nepal and the other from Borneo, are equally brown. While the fur 
is of this colour it is long and coarse, and the under-parts are less 
brilliant. These phases are probably seasonal, and connected with the 
breeding period.” — Anderson. 
SizE.—Head and body, about 15 inches; tail, about 16 inches. 
The next group consists of squirrels of medium size with grizzled fur, 
as Jerdon remarks of the two species he mentions ; but with the rich 
fields of Burmah and Assam we can swell our list to over a dozen. It 
is doubtful whether one or two of the named species are not varieties 
of one and the same, $0 nearly are they allied, but this remains to be 
proved. 
