SQUIRRELS, GOOD AND BAD 129 



the far northern woods. In the early spring 

 he must often content himself with buds, pre- 

 ferring those of the maple and elm ; and it is a 

 pretty sight to see him and his friends dangling 

 from the tips of the swaying branches, peril- 

 ously high, reaching for the bursting buds. In 

 March he taps the maples for sap, cutting out 

 little cups in the bark, in which the sugary 

 liquid gathers and is lapped up, for he drinks 

 like a cat. He climbs rotten stubs and, like 

 the woodpecker, listens for noise made by in- 

 sect larvae, which are quickly dug out. He 

 searches for haws of the rose and thorn-trees, 

 and hunts through the orchard for old apples 

 now thawed soft. 



A little later, I am sorry to say, he is on the 

 lookout for birds' eggs and young, of which 

 he destroys far more than any other squirrel. 

 No nest is safe from his inquisitive eye and 

 eager appetite, even the Baltimore oriole's, but 

 he is often driven away by the owners. Nest- 

 lings are more to his taste than eggs, even ; and 

 now and then he is able to catch small birds, 

 or even mice and little snakes, while grass- 

 hoppers and fat larvae are a regular part of 



