156 The Red Squirrel 



his wonderful perseverance, his industry, and the 

 cleverness displayed in his various actions cause him 

 to be tolerated, even though he is an acknowledged 

 nuisance. 



Many claim that the chickaree is the bird's most 

 deadly enemy, destroying both eggs and young: 

 others are equally positive that the red squirrel does 

 not meddle with nesting birds; that he visits the 

 nests very often, but that this is out of pure curiosity 

 and nothing else; that the old birds tolerate him 

 and make no outcry when he is near their nests, 

 thus proving that he is not a destroyer of their young. 

 I do not precisely agree with either, for circumstances 

 have very much to do with it, and to say that the red 

 squirrels as a whole do or do not rob birds' nests is a 

 very sweeping statement. There are probably both 

 innocent and guilty red squirrels, as far as robbing 

 birds' nests is concerned. In other words, I believe 

 it to be a habit, formed like any other habit that an 

 animal may have, or that we may have. I do not 

 believe that red squirrels are nest -robbers, any more 

 than a hen naturally eats hens' eggs. Occasionally a 

 hen develops the habit of eating her own eggs and 

 all others she may find, but it would be unfair to 

 accuse all hens of this unnatural practice. If I under- 

 stand the nature of the red squirrel, he will, if forced 



