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 Sciuride) 
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 squirret can easily :e un- 
derstood. 
Woodchuck 
Arctomys monax (Linnzus) 
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. 
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- 
rst 
