THE COMMON GROUND-SQUIRREL. 17 



forests, seldom venturing from its retreat except in the 

 night. Dr. Richardson received specimens from the 

 Elk river, and also from the south branch of the Mac- 

 kenzie. Whether it is a mere variety of the Pt. Sa- 

 brinus or a distinct species is not clear. 



Its general colour is yellowish-brown above. The tail 

 is flat, longer than the body, and blackish- gray. Total 

 length fourteen inches three lines, of which the tail, in- 

 cluding the fur, measures six inches three lines. 



The Common Ground-Squirrel 



{Tamias striatus). 



Unlike the true squirrels, the ground-squirrels are 

 chiefly terrestrial in their habits, and are furnished with 

 cheek-pouches, in which they carry food to their retreats, 

 forming magazines for winter. They live in burrows, 

 but do not appear to become torpid. Their fur is shorter 

 and closer, and the tail less bushy, than in their arboreal 

 relatives. These animals are chiefly spread through 

 the northern and temperate regions of Europe, Asia, 

 and America. The palm-squirrel of India, and the 

 Barbary squirrel, though associated by some authors 

 with the ground-squirrels, occupy an intermediate si- 

 tuation between the latter and the true arboreal species. 



The common ground-squirrel is a native of the north- 

 eastern part of Europe and the north of Asia. It is the 

 Ecureuil Suisse of the French, so called because its 

 striped back has some resemblance to a Swiss doublet. 

 According to Pallas, these striped squirrels dig their 

 burrows in woody places, in small hummocks of earth, 

 or near the roots of trees ; but never, like the common 

 squirrels, make their nests in the trunk or branches, 

 although when scared from their holes they climb with 

 facility, and make their way from branch to branch with 

 great speed. A winding passage leads to their nest, and 

 they generally form two or three lateral chambers to 

 store their food in. The striped squirrel in its manners, 

 and from having cheek-pouches, is allied to the hamster 

 and citillus (type of the genus Spermopkilus), and is 



