124 IN THE ACADIAN LAND. 



erations. They hide in damp places because they 

 are the most numerous and convenient localities 

 for storage purposes. 



To get back to our squirrel making his break- 

 fast on browse. I had never noticed before how 

 useful his tail was on a cold morning. It was 

 drawn tight over his back to make the most of 

 it for a blanket. To see him in frolicsome mood 

 in the summer one would think lie considered 

 his tail a mere plaything to be flirted and whisked 

 for fun. When he curls up in his nest his tail 

 is made to do duty for bed-clothing. A very 

 serious charge lies at our red squirrel's door : 

 he is a bold bad robber of birds' nests, eating 

 eggs or young with great relish. All our small 

 birds are unable to drive him away, and their 

 young become victims to his appetite. I was 

 witness to an attempt on a robin's nest that was 

 built on the end of a birch limb about thirty feet 

 from the ground. The outcry of the pair of 

 birds attracted my attention. The squirrel was 

 within six feet of the nest, hitching along in 

 short jerks, while the indignant birds almost 

 alighted on his back. At last one of them made 

 a desperate drive at him and knocked him off 

 the limb. He made himself as flat as a pancake, 

 and although he struck on a granite boulder he 

 scurried away at once. This ability to fall from 



