74 ANIMALS OP NORTH AMERICA. 



some hollow tree ; often also he accumulates large stocks of 

 nuts in various places, covering them with leaves, and seem- 

 ing to forget the locality ; for the writer remembers in West- 

 chester Co., N. Y., one afternoon in fearly winter, that five 

 or six boys rambling with him came upon such a number of 

 these heaps of hickory nuts, that they were unable to carry 

 all away. One peculiarity of this species is its singular and 

 distant migration in large bodies. Bachman has furnished 

 an interesting account of an extraordinary migration of this 

 sort, which he witnessed near Albany, N. Y. On that occa- 

 sion troops of squirrels suddenly and unexpectedly made 

 their appearance ; they swam the Hudson River with their 

 bodies and tails wholly submerged ; many were drowned, 

 and those that reached the opposite bank were so wet and 

 fatigued, that they were easily killed. An unusual and 

 general failure of their food is supposed to be the motive for 

 such migrations. The popular belief that the males emascu- 

 late each other is without foundation. 



THE Fox SQUIRREL (#. vulpinus) is probably only a large 

 species of the preceding, as there are no peculiarities to 

 mark a difference, except size and robustness. It is confined 

 to the Southern States. 



THE BLACK SQUIRREL (#. Niger) is very similar in habits, 

 &c., to the gray squirrel, but seldom found south of Penn- 

 sylvania ; it is said to disappear before the grey. 



THE RED SQUIRREL ($. JSudsonious') extends abundantly 

 from the Arctic Circle to Tennessee ; he is a noisy little 

 fellow, with a twittering note 

 of chick-a-ree, which has sug- 

 gested that, as one of his popu- 

 lar names. He is to game 

 what the magpie or jay are 

 in England, a most watchful 

 tattling spy ; for however 

 stealthily the sportsman may 

 move, or in ambush await his 



