Woodchuck 



burrows, near some stream of water, and feeding at dusk or 

 early in the morning on vegetable material of various kinds. 



SQUIRRELS AND MARMOTS 



(Family Sciurida) 



The squirrels and their allies include some of our handsomest 

 and best-known rodents. They are active, intelligent animals, 

 as a rule, with large bright eyes, bushy tails and strong muscular 

 legs. Some species, as the marmots, are burrowers, though they 

 spend much of their time out in the sunlight about the mouths 

 of their holes, while others, comprising the most typical squirrels, 

 are climbers par excellence, scaling the tree trunks or traversing, 

 the most slender branches with equal agility. This arboreal habit 

 reaches its highest specialization in the flying squirrel which 

 launches itself forth in its parachute-like flight from tree to tree, 

 despising the support of slender branches upon which the other 

 squirrels still rely. When one watches the rapid passage of the 

 red squirrel through the trees and his sudden leaps from bough 

 to bough, the evolution of the flying squirrel can easily be un- 

 derstood. 



Woodchuck 



Ardomys monax (Linnaeus) 

 Also called Ground Hog, Maryland Marmot. 



Length. 24 inches. 



Description. Heavy and thick-set, with short legs and rather short, 



brushy tail. Colour grizzly or yellowish-gray varied with black 



and rusty, underparts rusty, feet black. (Illustrations facing 



pp. 1 52 and 153.) 

 Range. New York and southern New England to Georgia and North 



Dakota, represented northward by an allied variety, others occur 



westward. 



In every part of the world where the winters are sufficiently 

 severe, there is pretty sure to be found a certain proportion of 

 the wild animals that manage to do away with the most un- 



151 



