146 



THE GNAWERS OR RODENTS. 



indicated. As the type of this genus an 

 illustration is given of our Common Squirrel 

 (Sciurus vulgaris], fig. 203, a charming 

 creature, just as pretty as it is destructive, in 

 captivity very entertaining when young, but 

 ill-tempered and apt to bite when old. Its 

 bites are deep and leave ugly scars behind. 

 Every one, no doubt, is acquainted with this 

 rodent, which, like all 

 species belonging to 

 the same genus, has 

 a roundish head with 

 two large eyes and 

 enormous ears cover- 

 ed with hair ending in 

 a long bunch of stiff 

 bristles. The body is 

 slender, the long tail 

 thickly covered with 

 hair arranged in two 

 rows. The limbs are 

 rather short, and have 

 in front four well -de- 

 veloped toes and a 

 warty protuberance in 

 place of a thumb, 

 while there are five 

 toes behind. All these 

 toes are free and 

 armed with sharp 

 curved claws. Our species has a coppery- 

 red coat, inclining to brown or yellow on the 

 back, but on the under surface always yellow- 

 ish. In winter the colour becomes paler. 

 There are also black varieties, more rarely 

 white or spotted ones 



The squirrel lives chiefly on trees, and 

 feeds on seeds, nuts, young shoots, and the 

 bark of trees when filled with sap, and often 

 does much damage to young plantations. 

 The cembra pine, that beautiful tree of the 

 high elevations, can hardly thrive in the Alps 

 because the squirrels greedily search for and 

 destroy their seeds, which resemble pistachios. 

 The squirrel is at the same time a ruthless 

 destroyer of birds'-nests, and is particularly 



Fig. 204. The Ch 



fond of eggs and young birds. It builds 

 nests for itself in hollow trees, or sometimes 

 among the small twigs growing out from 

 strong branches. The nests are warmly 

 lined, roofed over, and have an opening below 

 directed to the east. The squirrels collect 

 considerable stores of food for winter, and 

 the species living in Northern Siberia under- 

 take great migrations. 

 The Ground-Squir- 

 rels (Tamias), unlike 

 the last species, live 

 on the ground, and 

 inhabit chiefly the 

 northern parts of both 

 hemispheres. They 

 are smaller and more 

 thickset than our 

 squirrels, have cheek- 

 pouches of consider- 

 able size, a shorter 

 and not very hairy 

 tail, and small rounded 

 ears without tufts, 

 but otherwise resem- 

 ble our squirrels in 

 bodily structure. They 

 dig holes for them- 

 selves in the ground. 

 The species repre- 

 sented in fig. 204, the Chipping Squirrel 

 ( Tamias striatus), the Burunduk of the Rus- 

 sians, the Chipmunk of North America, is only 

 about 6 inches and the tail 4 inches long. A 

 black stripe along the middle of the back and 

 two lateral stripes stand out in relief against 

 the general yellowish hue which forms the 

 ground colour of the fur. This tiny creature, 

 which is detested by the tillers of the ground, 

 digs holes for itself under the roots of trees in 

 the forest, and these holes it fills with acorns, 

 nuts, and grains of corn. It has a winter 

 sleep, but not a very deep one. 



The Spermophiles (Spermophilus)are hardly 

 any larger than the ground-squirrels, and 

 their general habit is exactly like that of 



:1 or Chipmunk (Tamias striatus). 



