80 U. S. p. E R .EXP. AND SURVEYS— 47TH PARALLEL. 



Tlie only difference in the color of the male and female seems to be a deeper hue of the 

 orange colored under parts of the latter. 

 Length from nose to tip of tail, 14 inches. 



PTEROMYS OREGONENSIS, Bach. 



Colniubia River Flying Squirrel. 



Pteromys oregonmsis, Bachman, Jour. Acad. Nat. Sc. Phila. VIII, 1839, lOI.— Ib. in Townsend's Narrative, 1839. 

 Ano. & Bach. N. Am. Quod. I, 1849, 133 ; plate x 

 Baird, Gen. Rep. Mammals, 1857, 290. 



Sp. Ch. Much larger than Pteromys volucellu. Tail, with hairs, longer than the body alone ; shorter than head and body. 



Flying membrane very broad, its antero-external corner exhibiting a conspicuous angle. Color above yellowisli brown, beneath 

 dull white ; the hairs plumbeous at base. Tail becoming more plumbeous towards the tip. Lengtii, 7 inches ; tail with hairs, 

 6 J ; hind foot, Ij inches. 



The only specimens I ever saw were obtained in August, near the foot of Mount St. Helens. 

 In turning over a log, a nest was found under it containing four young, still blind. The mother 

 in attempting to escape was killed by a pistol ball, and was lost before I could see it. It was 

 much larger than the P. volucellaoi the eastern States. I never heard of one having been seen 

 in the country nearer the coast, and think it is confined to the mountains. 



TAMIAS TOWNSENDII. 



Townsend's Striped Squirrel. 



Tamins tmonsendii, Bachman, Jour. Phila. Acad. Nat. Sc. Phila. VIII, i, 1839, 68. — Ib. in Townsend's Narrative, 

 1839, 331. 



AuD. & Bach. N. Am. Quad. 1, 1849, 159 ; pi. xx. 



Baird, Gen. Rep. Mammals, 1857, 301. 

 Tainias cooperii, Baird, Pr. Ac. Nat. Sc. Phila. VII, April, 1855, 334. 



Sp. Ch — Larger lha.n T. striatus. Tail, with hairs, nearly or quite as long as the body. Sides of head striped. Above and 

 on the sides rufous brown, witli five dark stripes reaching to the tail, the intervals between which are scarcely or but seldom 

 paler than the ground color; beneath, dull white. Ears dusky brown, hoary posteriorly. Tail bright chestnut beneath, 

 margined with ashy white, within which is a band of black. Length 5 to 6 inches. Hind foot 1.40 to 1.50. 



Varies in rather paler colors, ash-colored interspaces, and sometimes the back with black hairs interspersed, so as to obscure 

 or nearly conceal the dorsal stripes 



The ground squirrel, or "chipmunk," inhabiting the neighborhood of the coast in Washington 

 Territory, resembles closely in its habits that common on the Atlantic border. It differs, however, 

 considerably in colors, and has not the shrill cry of the eastern species. About the first of 

 April it emerges from its winter nest and soon after great numbers are seen where none appeared 

 before. In summer they will often sit on some prominent stump or rock, and make a shrill 

 barking noise for hours together, answering each other from distant parts of the woods. They 

 become very mischievous in the garden, being esj^ecially fond of peas either green or ripe, for 

 which they will come from their burrows several rods distant, as I have observed from the scattered 

 pea-vines growing along the path where they have dropped the seed from their overloaded cheek- 

 pouches. In November they retire to their burrows to sleep through the long rainy season, 

 though it is probable that in the warm weather, often occurring in the winter of this coast, they 

 come out to breathe the fresh air from time to time. 



The ground squirrels obtained on the summit of the Cascade mountains differ in some respects 

 from those near the coast. As I observed these animals in abundance in all the wooded regions, 

 and saw no marked differences in their appearance or habits, I supposed all to be of one species, 

 varying slightly in size and colors from differences of climate, which, between the perpetual 



