144 



Order RODENTIA 



Length measurements: head and body ^V^-^^Yi inches (210- 

 270 mm.) ; tail 7i^-9i/ inches (190-240 mm.) ; over-all 16-20 

 inches (400-510 mm.), males averaging about 1814 inches 

 (464 mm.), females 17l4 inches (439 mm.); hind foot 2^-3 

 inches (60-75 mm.). Average weight: about 1^4 pounds. 



The skull is 59-64 mm. (about 2^ inches) long. The third 

 upper premolar on each side is small and peglike. Dental for- 

 mula: I 1/1, C 0/0, Pm 2/1, M 3/3. 



Life History. — The gray squirrel is commonly seen in trees 

 bordering city streets, in parks, on lawns, near wooded streams 

 and heavy stands of timber, and in areas where there is abun- 

 dant ground cover and brush not greatly disturbed by ax or live- 

 stock. Probably it spends more time in trees and less time on 

 the ground than does the fox squirrel; it is more adept and 

 graceful in moving through trees. 



The gray squirrel lives in a leaf nest or in a hollow within 

 the main trunk of a tree. A litter of three to five young is 

 brought forth in the nest about the middle of February in south- 



Fig. 81. — Young of eastern gray squirrel. 



