362 SCIUEID^E. 



towards the base outside ; a large tuft of long hair behind each 

 ear. On the fore foot are 3 toe- and 2 subequal metacarpal pads ; 

 on the hind foot 4 toe-pads, a large pyriform inner metatarsal pad, 

 and a small supplementary pad behind the outer toe-pad. 



Colour above grizzled brown, varying from deep chestnut to 

 greyish brown in one direction and to sooty black in the other, the 

 longer hairs partly white, producing a hoary appearance, especially 

 on the head and body, less on the membrane and limbs ; dorsal fur 

 dark ashy blackish or brown towards the base, then brown or deep 

 red or black, the longer hairs white for a distance near the end, 

 extreme tips black. Eeet dark, often black ; tail sometimes black, 

 brownish towards the base, in other skins light or dark grev with 

 a black tip. Lower parts white, sometimes pure, more often greyish 

 or brownish, especially on the membrane and around the vent. 



Dimensions. Head and body 16 to 18 inches ; tail without hair 

 22, with hair 24 to 25. Some published measurements are longer. 

 Hind foot without claws 275 to 3 ; weight 5 Ibs. A skull mea- 

 sures 2'5 in basal, 2*85 in extreme length, and 1*9 in zygomatic 

 width. 



Distribution. All the larger forests of the Indian Peninsula south 

 of the Ganges, also Ceylon, and throughout Burma to Tenasserim 

 and the Mergui Archipelago. 



Varieties. The ordinary Indian form is dark brown, with the 

 greater part of the tail black. P. cineraceus, the Burmese form, is 

 much greyer, the upper parts ashy throughout, and the white 

 speckling more conspicuous on the parachute than is usually the 

 case in Indian skins. The tail too is grey or whitish, the hairs 

 having long white terminations, the tip of the tail alone being 

 black. Ceylonese skins from Kandy, however, are quite inter- 

 mediate, and so is one sent to me by Mr. Daly from the Shevaroy 

 hills. Travancore specimens often have the upper surface of the 

 membrane bright chestnut. Bombay skins, on the other hand, are 

 said by Sterndale to be grey. 



Habits. The large Indian flying-squirrel lives in holes of trees 

 during the day and comes out to feed, as a rule, quite in the dusk. 

 It inhabits tree-forest, but in forest-tracts it may be found 

 about villages, in mango-groves and similar places. It feeds like 

 ordinary squirrels on fruits and nuts, also, according to Tickell, on 

 the bark of certain trees, and on beetles and larvae, but not on grain. 

 It drinks by lapping. The voice is described by Tickell as a low 

 soft monotone quickly repeated. 



The flying-squirrel sleeps during the day, sitting, like so many 

 arboreal mammals, with its back bent into a circle and its head 

 thrust inside ; or, in hot weather, lying on its back with the para- 

 chute extended. It is not so active as other squirrels, either on 

 trees or on the ground, the parachute impeding its movements. 

 When passing from one tree to another at a distance, it leaps, with 

 its parachute extended, from the higher branches, and descends, at 

 first more directly, then, apparently, by availing itself of the resist- 

 ance of the air, more and more obliquely, until its flight, graduallv 



