THE SQUIRREL'S "DREY" 



can build anywhere and with anything. He will fix his 

 dwelling in a tree or on the ground, in the hollow of a tree 

 trunk or in a hole in a bank or wall, in a bush or the 

 crevice of a rock, under a low roof or the root of a tree, or in 

 a wood pile. I have seen them in all these situations. 1 As 

 for materials, though the nest is often carefully woven of moss 

 and lichens, or moss, grass, and leaves, it is sometimes formed 

 of hay and straw, and frequently there is a lining of feathers. 

 The outer materials are usually taken from the surroundings, 

 and both the nest as a whole and the opening in the side are 

 beautifully rounded. 



MAMMALS 



The Squirrel (Sciurus vulgaris) is, as everybody knows, 

 arboreal in its habits, and the ease and grace with which it 

 leaps from bough to bough are wonderful to see. Living 

 thus in trees, and descending but seldom to the ground, it is 

 not surprising to find that it builds itself a dwelling up 

 aloft, much as the birds do ; indeed it is usually not satisfied 

 with one home but makes several, and it is no very un- 

 common thing to find a single individual or a pair of 

 squirrels possessed of as many as four nests, some of them 

 being, perhaps, those of magpies or crows, which the animal 

 has adapted to its own use. The ' drey ' or nest in which it 

 passes the night and in which the young are reared is always, 

 however, constructed by the squirrel itself, either in the fork 

 of a bough or in some hole or hollow in the stem of a tree. 

 It is ball-shaped, and composed of twigs, fibres of bark, and 

 leaves, all carefully intertwined. The dome or upper part of 

 the nest is dense and thick enough to keep out the rain, 

 while the interior is softly bedded with moss and leaves. 

 The principal opening is near the lower part of the nest, 

 and usually, it is said, on the east side ; there is frequently 



1 J. L. 

 98 



