THE FLYING SQUIRRELS 1263 



membrane between the hind-legs, which does not include any portion of the tail. 

 The fur, as in all other members of the group, is very thick and soft; but the tail 

 differs from that of the other flying squirrels in being broad, and flattened from 

 above downward, in order, probably, to act as an aid in flight. In size these animals 

 vary from five to twelve inches in length. The large size of their expressive eyes, 

 and the beautiful silky softness of their fur, render them exceedingly attractive crea- 

 tures. The North- American species (S. volucella}, w r hich is the one represented in 

 our illustration, has the fur of an ashy brown above and creamy white below. 



The lesser flying squirrels include a considerable number of species, 



one of which is an inhabitant of North America, and a second of Si- 

 and Habits 



beria and Northeastern Europe, while all the others are confined to 



the Indian and Malayan regions, extending as far northward as Afghanistan and 

 Kashmir. The following notes refer mainly to the habits of the North- American 

 species, of which an excellent account is given by Dr. Hart Merriam. Like ordi- 

 nary squirrels, these animals subsist mainly on nuts, seeds, and buds, but the Amer- 

 ican species also eats beetles, and probably other insects, and may be taken in traps 

 baited with meat, while in confinement it will but seldom refuse flesh. The American 

 flying squirrels construct nests in the hollow trees they haunt, nd in the cold win- 

 ters of the Adirondack region near New York they retire to these nests, and proba- 

 bly hibernate. The same habits will doubtless hold good for the species inhabiting 

 Kashmir and Afghanistan, but those inhabiting India proper and the warm Malayan 

 region remain active at all seasons. The Kashmir flying squirrel (S. fimbriatus) , 

 in some cases at least, produces four young at a birth. 



In the daytime these squirrels remain concealed in hollow trees, and only issue 

 forth at sunset in quest of food. Numbers frequently associate in one tree, and if 

 such a tree be discovered the creatures may be induced to come forth one after an- 

 other by tapping the stem. With regard to the flying leaps of the American flying 

 squirrel, Dr. Merriam observes that "the ease, grace, and rapidity with which it 

 glides from tree to tree inspires the merest passer-by with wonder and admiration. 

 Its ordinary mode of progression is by a series of alternate climbs and leaps. Upon 

 reaching a tree, the first act is to ascend, for, being unable to sail horizontally, 

 it must attain a considerable elevation before venturing to leap to the next. Instead 

 of moving off in this way when disturbed, it sometimes runs up into the topmost 

 branches of the nearest tree, and, curling itself into a surprisingly-small compass, 

 remains motionless until the intruder has taken his departure." 



The earlier writers, Audubon and Bachman also describe very graphically the 

 movements of a colony of these animals they once encountered. "At times," they 

 write, " one would be seen darting from the topmost branches of a tall oak, and 

 with wide extended membranes and outspread tail gliding diagonally through the 

 air, till it reached the foot of a tree about fifty yards off, when at the moment we 

 expected to see it strike the earth, it suddenly turned upward and alighted on the 

 body of the tree. It would then run to the top and once more precipitate itself from 

 the upper branches and sail back again to the tree it had just left. Crowds of these 

 little creatures joined in these sportive gambols; there could not have been less than 

 two hundred. Scores of them would leave each tree at the same moment, seeming 



