46 



NATURAL HISTORY OF VERMONT. 



Part L 



THE RED S(lUIRRi:l. 



THE STRIPED St^UiRREL. 



iams our largest black squirrels weiffh but 

 2J lbs., while our largest gray squirrels 

 weigh 3j^ lbs. 



THE RED SQUIRREL. 



Sciurus Hudsonius. — Gmel. 



Description. — Color, reddish gray a- 

 bove, and whitish beneath, with a dark 

 line extending along each side, separating 

 the color above from that below ; eyes 

 black ; whiskers long and black ; hairs of 

 the tail cinerous at their base and then 

 black, tipped with red on the upper side, 

 and with yellow on the under. Length 

 of the specimen before nie, from the nose 

 to the insertion of the tail, 7^ inches; 

 tail, (trunk 5, hair 1,) 6 inches. 



HisTORv. — This animal is every where 

 known in Vermont by the name of Red 

 Squirrel. They are much more common 

 than either of the preceding species, and 

 in some seasons they have multiplied so 

 exceedingly as to be a great annoyance 

 to the farmer, and do c jnsiderable dam- 

 age by their depredations. They spend 

 most of their time in the tops of trees, 

 feeding upon nuts of various kinds, and 

 upon tlie seeds contained in the burs of 

 spruce and hemlock. Their nests are 

 usually in the hollow of some old tree, 

 and here thi-y lay up for winter tiieir 

 store of provisions, often amounting to 

 several gallons, and consisting of butter- 

 nuts, beechnuts, acorns, and different 

 kinds of grain. Their food in summer 

 consists of grain, sweet apples, and differ- 

 ent kinds of berries, as well as nuts. In 

 Ihe fall and early part of winter they of- 

 ten come around our barns, and purloin 

 their subsistence from our granaries. This 

 f-quirrel is often called the C/ilcharec, prob- 

 ably frota its noisy chatter when alarmed. 

 It is also called the Hudson, or lludsun 

 Jiay Squirrel. 



THE STRIPED SQUIRREL. 

 Sciurus Striutus. — Klein. 

 Description. — Top of the head dark 

 reddish gray ; eye-lids whitish ; neck 

 gray ; back striped, having a black stripe 

 alono- the spine, tlien on each side a broad 

 reddish gray stripe, then another black 

 stripe, succeeded by a white stripe, and. 



lastly, a reddish brown stripe ; the throat, 

 bell}', and inner surface of the leo-s, white ; 

 head tapering from the ears to the nose ; 

 forehead slightly convex ; nose covered 

 with short hairs, with a black spot near 

 the extremity; ears short, rounded, and 

 covered with very fine hair, which is red- 

 dish brown within ; tail less bushy than 

 in the preceding species, blackish above, 

 and red beneath, bordered with gray. 

 Length of the specimen before me, from 

 llie nose to the insertion of the tail, 6 in- 

 ches; tail (trunk 3^ in., tuft ^ in.) 4 in- 

 ches. 



History. — The Striped Squirrel is more 

 common in Vermont than cither of the 

 preceding species, and differs from them 

 in being furnished with cheek pouches, 

 in wiiich it carries the food it collects, to 

 its store-house. It also differs from the 

 precedincr in having its chief residence in 

 the ground, while the others inhabit hol- 

 low trees, and hence it has received the 

 name of Ground Squirrel. It is likewise 

 frequently called tiie Clii.pwuc/,-, or Cliip- 

 plnir Sfji/irrcl, from its note ; and it is al- 

 so called in many places the Jlurkee. 



This squirrel is generally seen running 

 along upon the lower rail offences, or sit- 

 ting upon stone walls or logs. When 

 frightened they immediately retreat to 

 tlieir holes, whicli they enter with a pe- 

 culiarly shrill cliit-lr-ric, indicative of safe- 

 ty, wliich is as much as to say, " catch 

 me now if you can." When their retreat 

 to their hole is cut off, they become much 

 alarmed, and, in such cases, will some- 

 times ascend trees, but they betray much 

 timidity, and will seldom go up more than 

 20 or oU feet. Their burrows are by the 

 side of stone walls, fences, or the roots of 

 trees, and in places where their food is 

 easily obtained. These burrows are often 

 extensive, with two openings, at consid- 

 erable distance from each other, and what 

 is remarkable, is that the dirt which has 

 been removed in m;iking the excavation, 

 is no where to be found. This squiriel 

 retires to its burrow on the approach of 

 cold weather, where it spends the 

 winter, subsisting upon its stores of nuts 

 and seeds, which it iiad carefully provi- 

 ded, and being seldom seen after the be- 

 ginning of November, before the first of 

 April. 



Genus Pteromys. — Cuvicr. 



Generic Charucters. — Teeth 22 — Incis- 

 ors, 3. no canines, orinders, 5..s^ Head 



'2' ' » ' 4 4- 



loiinH ; ears short and rounded ; eyes large ; fore 

 (eel will) fuur elongated loes, fiirni.';lied wilh sharp 

 nails and a rudimentary ihunib, having an obius'e 

 nail ; hind feet wilh five long toes, much divided, 



