THE SQUIRREL 23 



prepared nests, they lay up a supply of food, such as nuts, acorns 

 and berries. In the spring and early summer they nibble off the 

 needles of young sprays of conifers, and peel the tender rind from 

 young broad-leaved trees, such as alder, beech, birch and hazel, 

 their attention being more confined to the broad-leaved species 

 than to coniferous trees ; and afterwards they feed upon fruits, 

 hazel nuts, chestnuts, beech-mast, and acorns, with, perchance, 

 grain. They are also credited with robbing the nests of certain 

 insectivorous birds of their young broods. 

 The SQUIRREL (Sciurus vulgar is), Fig. 21, belongs to the order 



FIG. 21. THE SQUIRREL. 



Rodentia and family Sciuridae, and is arboreal in habits, typical of 

 frolicsomeness and sport, the bushy tail assisting in its aerial flights. 

 The colour of the fur is usually a rich ruddy brown on the upper 

 parts, this colour merging into reddish or greyish white on the 

 under portion of the body. The nest and dwelling-place consists of 

 a spherical structure formed of intertwined woody fibres, leaves 

 and moss, and is generally placed in the fork of a bough, and in an 



