SQUIRRELS, GOOD AND BAD 139 



almost as flat as a feather; the color is drab 

 above, irregularly tinged with russet, while the 

 hair of the underparts is pure white to the 

 roots. Cram notes the "protective" similarity 

 of their clouded cream-buff colors, to the lichens 

 on the trees to whose bark they often cling 

 motionless for long periods. They are not 

 much exposed to any but nocturnal enemies, 

 such as owls and the weasel tribe, however, so 

 that this similitude cannot have much practical 

 importance. They are forest folk, haunting 

 the hardwood groves, and few farmers suspect 

 how many of these tenants profit by the old 

 stubs left along the edges of their clearings. 

 Really they are tenants of the woodpeckers, who 

 are good enough not to occupy one of their care- 

 fully dug nesting-holes twice, but to leave it to 

 the occupancy, rent-free, of squirrels, chick- 

 adees, little owls and other feebler neighbors. 

 The squirrels are capable, however, of carving 

 out a deep hole for themselves, or will take 

 possession of some natural cavity, and in it 

 arrange a luxurious bed of shredded bark, etc., 

 mingled with the fur they shed plentifully in 

 the fall. Sometimes many will room together 



