CLASS I. MAMMALIA: ORDER 7. RODENTIA. 377 



given ; the march of far greater numbers has often been witnessed, but the cause of such strange 

 movements is hidden in mystery. 



The Black Squirrel, S. niycr, must be distinguished from the Black Squirrel we have men- 

 tioned in the preceding article, and which is only a variety of the Gray Squirrel ; the animal we 

 now describe constitutes a distinct species. It is a little larger than the gray squirrel, being 

 thirteen inches long, with a tail, including the hair, of the same length; the color is a glossy 

 black, with a few straggling tufts of white hair. It is a lively and beautiful species, resembling 

 the preceding in its habits. As the gray squirrel retreats before the red squirrel, so the black 

 squirrel gives place to the gray squirrel. It is found in western New York and on the borders of 

 Lake Champlain, and probably extends north and west to Lake Superior. The difficulty of dis- 

 tinguishing it from the black variety of the gray squirrel has prevented the exact determination 

 of irs geographical limits. 



The Carolina Gray Squirrel, S. Carolinensis, is smaller than the gray squirrel we have de- 

 scribed, the body being but nine and a half inches long, and the tail, to the ends of the hair, of 

 equal length. It is of a rusty gray color above, and white beneath. In size and habits it resem- 

 bles the chickaree. It is very abundant in the swamps of Carolina, usually making its nest in the 

 trunk of a decayed cypress, and lining the same with Spanish moss or leaves. It often utters a 

 bark as it leaps from tree to tree, or scratches for food among the leaves. It has the peculiarity 

 of being abroad in the evening. On moonlight nights it pursues its gambols among the trees, 

 often paying a penalty, however, by being snapped up by the owls. At other, and indeed at all 

 times, this animal seems to stand in peril from a multitude of dangers. The rattlesnake, the 

 black snake, and the chicken-snake, dart upon it from their ambush of grass and leaves; the gray 

 fox and the wild-cat often seize upon it either by stratagem or stealth; the lynx pounces upon it 

 from behind logs or heaps of brushwood. It would seem that existence thus encompassed with 

 perils would hardly be worth the possession, but nevertheless, this little animal enjoys life while 

 it lasts, and knowing nothing of to-morrow, darkens not its existence by evil bodings of the future. 



The Fox-Squirrel, S. vulpinus, or capistratus, is a large, stout-built species, with coarse 

 hair, subject to many varieties of color. The most common is the Gray Variety; this is light 

 gray above and white beneath, with a white nose and white ears. The next is the Black Variety, 

 which is white on the nose and ears, the rest, including the tail, being black. The Mottled Va- 

 riety has the nose and ears white; head, belly, and thighs black; the tail and back dark gray. 

 The Alabama Variety has, like all the rest of the species, the ears and nose white; the back is a 

 rusty blackish-brown; the neck and head black; thighs and belly a bright russet color. These 

 diversities of color have led to some confusion among naturalists, as the different varieties have 

 been regarded as different species. 



The Fox-Squirrel is fourteen and a half inches long; the tail, with the fur, an inch longer. It 

 is a southern species, being common in the Southern States, yet occasionally found as far north 

 as New York. It feeds on acorns, and nuts, and cones of pines; lives in forests of pines, mingled 

 with oaks and hickories, and in the time of green corn makes long visits to the fields, and feasts 

 on the luscious ears. It builds its nest in the hollow of some aged tree, usually an oak, and pro- 

 duces young in March or April. He lays up no stores in winter, and at that season goes abroad 

 but seldom, and only in the middle of the day, evidently having the power of sustentation, during 

 this partial hibernation, with little food. Toward spring he feeds on the buds of various trees. 

 When surprised in the woods, he usually makes a rapid retreat to the hollow of a tree; if he fan- 

 cies himself unperceived, he seeks concealment by lying flat on the limb of a tree. lie has a 

 kind of bark, which he sometimes utters as a sort of defiance on the close approach of a. dog or 

 hunter. He fights severely, and will often beat off a small dog. His hide is tough and he is tena- 

 cious of life, and when in the top of a tall pine is brought down with difficulty by a shot-gun. His 

 flesh is not greatly prized. 



This species, like other squirrels, is infected with troublesome larvae during the summer. He is 

 a late riser, and of a rather lazy habit for a squirrel, and perhaps suffers more than others from 

 this cause. His size and length, however, keep him from the attacks of the hawks, and as he is 

 not out at night, escapes the owls, wild-cats, and foxes. 



Vol. I. — 48 



