GREAT SQUIRREL. 127 



continue that action in the manner of bats. The 

 species of Squirrels enumerated in the twelfth edi- 

 tion of the Systema Naturae of Linnaeus amounted 

 to no more than eleven ; but such has been the 

 spirit of research among modern naturalists, that 

 the number is now increased to near thirty. 



GREAT SQUIRREL. 



Sciurus Maximus. S. ferrugineus, subtus Jlavescens, artubus 



extus caudaque nigris. 

 Ferruginous Squirrel, yellowish beneath, with the outsides of the 



limbs and tail black. 



Sciurus maximus. Lin. Syst. Nat. GmeL p. 149. 

 Le grand Ecureuil de la cote de Malabar. Sonnerat, Voy. 2. 



p. 139. pi. 87. 



OF all the species yet discovered, this is the 

 largest, being equal in size to a cat. It is a na- 

 tive of India, and was first described by Mons. 

 Sonnerat, who informs us that it is found in the 

 Malabar country, and especially about the moun- 

 tains of Cardamone, where it feeds on fruits, and 

 is particularly fond of the milk of the cocoa-nut, 

 which it pierces, when ripe, in order to obtain to 

 the liquor. The fur on the whole animal is long 

 and full : the top of the head, ears, back, and 

 sides, are ferruginous, and a small band of a 

 similar colour commences beneath each ear, pass- 

 ing along the neck towards the sides. Part of 

 the neck in front, the beginning of the body, and 

 outsides of the shoulders and thighs, are black : 



