ii8 Field Museum of Natural History — Zoology, Vol. XT. 



it is made of twigs, leaves and bark nicely roofed over with an entrance 

 on the side. These houses, when seen from the ground, have much the 

 appearance of old crows' nests. 



In the majority of cases in this latitude two litters of young are 

 born in a year, the first late in March or early in April, and the second 

 usually in September. The young Squirrels number from three to 

 five, rarely six, and when born are entirely without hair. 



While this Squirrel cannot be said to hibernate in the strict sense of 

 the word, at least in this latitude, it remains indoors, often for a con- 

 siderable length of time, during stormy or very severe winter weather; 

 but as soon as the weather moderates and becomes clear, it is out run- 

 ning about as lively as ever. 



In localities where they are comparatively numerous their peculiar 

 barking may often be heard; they also make a whining noise difficult 

 to describe. When not persecuted, as in parks or the vicinity of 

 country houses, they soon become very tame, and I have often had them 

 climb up on the bench beside me and take nuts from my hand ; usually, 

 however, they would go away a few yards to eat them and then return 

 for more. Dr. C. Hart Merriam states, "Some winters they became 

 very tame, and while we were at breakfast inside, a few used to bring 

 their nuts to the window and eat them there, perched on their haunches 

 on the sill, with their handsome bushy tails cocked over their backs. 

 When any one went out doors they commonly scampered off or ran up 

 a tree, yet several often remained and would allow a near approach 

 without manifesting alarm. They were extremely fond of music (in 

 the most comprehensive sense of the term), and it affected them in a 

 peculiar manner. Some were not only fascinated, but actually spell- 

 bound, by the music-box or guitar. And one particularly weak-minded 

 individual was so unrefined in his taste that if I advanced slowly, 

 whistling 'Just before the Battle, Mother', in as pathetic a tone as I could 

 muster for the occasion, he would permit me even to stroke his back, 

 soine times expressing his pleasure by making a low purring sound." 

 (/. c, pp. 223-224.) But a wild Squirrel in the woods is shy, and when 

 observed has a habit of skillfully shifting its position in a tree to keep 

 itself concealed behind trunk or branch, so that the boy with a gun will 

 often have considerable difficulty in discovering the one which he 

 knows to be in a certain tree. Formerly black Squirrels of this species 

 were much more common in localities where now they are apparently 

 rare. While at present the black form seems to be the exception, 

 Kennicott states, "In a lot of nearly fifty shot near the Rock River in 

 Illinois there was not a single gray one, all being of the black variety." 

 (/. c. p. 6^.) 



