42 THE TAIGA, OR CONIFEROUS 
The red deer seem to feed chiefly on the outskirts of 
the forest or in the open glades, but the American 
wapiti eats a considerable amount of leaves and twigs. 
The Virginian deer also eats a large amount of forest 
produce, sharing with many other animals, both birds 
and mammals, a great fondness for beech mast, which 
it obtains in winter by pawing away the snow. It 
extends into Canada, but its true home is rather further 
south than the taiga proper. 
The most important rodents of the taiga are the 
various kinds of squirrels, such as the true squirrels 
(Sciurus), the striped squirrels or chipmunks (Tamias), 
and the flying squirrels (Sciuropterus); the beaver 
(Castor); the Polar hare, which extends into the 
forest region, though it is not common there. The 
American taiga also lodges the Canadian porcupine, 
an arboreal animal, the musquash (Fiber), a swamp 
animal, and the American variable hare in addition to 
the Polar hare. 
The squirrels form a very interesting group, showing 
progressive adaptation to arboreal life. The Siberian 
striped squirrel or chipmunk (7. asiaticus) is an example 
of a ground form which occurs in both North America 
and Asia, though North America has other species in 
addition. The chipmunks feed on nuts and seeds, of 
which they store large quantities for the winter, and, 
like the true squirrels, they hibernate. They differ, 
however, in living mostly on the ground, where they 
often excavate holes. They can climb trees, but are 
not nearly so agile as the true squirrels. The next 
stage is represented by the American red squirrel or 
chickaree (S. hudsonianus), which is a graceful and 
agile climber, but spends a good part of its time upon 
the ground, where it sometimes excavates holes. Our 
