SQUIRREL. 167 



THE TRUE SQUIRRELS. GENUS SCIURUS. 

 SciuruSy Linn., Syst. Nat. ed. 12, vol. i. p. 86 (1766). 



Tail long and bushy; ears generally well developed and 

 often tufted ; feet adapted for climbing, the front pair with the 

 first toe rudimentary. Teats four to six in number. First pair 

 of upper pre-molar teeth minute, and frequently shed at an 

 early state. Collar-bones complete. 



THE COMMON SQUIRREL. SCIURUS VULGARIS. 



Sciurus vulgaris^ Linn., Syst. Nat. ed. 12, vol. i. p. 86 (1766); 

 Bell, British Quadrupeds, 2nd ed. p. 276 (1874). 

 {Plate XIX.) 



Characters — General colour brownish-red on the upper-parts, 

 and white beneath; tail very bushy and coloured like the body; 

 ears tufted during a portion of the year ; first upper pre-molar 

 tooth frequently shed. Length of head and body, about 8^ 

 inches ; of tail, exclusive of hair, 7 inches, with the hair, 

 ■8 inches. 



The Squirrel is subject to certain variations of colour accord- 

 ing to age and the time of the year, and there seems likewise to 

 be some difference due to locality. After mentioning that the 

 female is smaller, and generally of a lighter colour than the 

 male, Macgillivray writes on this subject as follows : — In 

 younger individuals the colour is redder than in adults, in 

 which it is seldom destitute of a grey tinge ; " and I have seen 

 some in which the grey predominated over the red. In April 

 and May the hair of the upper-parts assumes a singularly 

 faded appearance, losing its gloss and assuming a light yellowish 

 tint. In the latter month the process of depilation commences, 

 to be completed by the end of June, when the ears are desti- 

 tute of tufts. It appears that the long hairs which fringe the 

 ears are not proportionately longer than the rest until Novem- 



