ZOOLOGY. 121 



SCIURUS FOSSOR. Peale. 



Western Gray Sqnirrel. 



Sciurutfossor, Peale, Mamm. and Birds, U. S. Ex. Ex., 1848, 55. 

 Baird, Gen. Rep. Mammals, 1857, 264. 

 [For description and measurements see Sucliley's partial Report, chapter 2, p. 95.] 



Immense numbers of the California gray squirrel exist on the Klamath river. They frequent 

 oak groves, and the neighborhood of the bay-leaved juglans. — G. 



Concerning this species I have nothing to add to what is written on page 95. It has appa- 

 rently not crossed the Cascade mountains to the west, in Oregon, and it is a matter of some 

 doubt whether the species is found at all in Washington Territory. — S. 



NoTK. — Mr. Gibbs, in a letter to me, says that he has seen in a cage, tamed, a gray free 

 squirrel, not the >S'. fossor, but smaller, which had been brought from California. He saw 

 another dead, lying on the ground in the Willamette valley. — S. 



In 1853, when decending the Flathead river, a tributary of Clark's Fork of the Columbia, 

 which meanders through the Bitter Root chain of Rocky mountains, I saw from my canoe a 

 black squirrel ascending a tree on the bank. From some cause or another I did not obtain the 

 specimen, and was reluctantly obliged to move on, consoling myself with the hope that I should 

 ere long fall in with another. But in this I was disappointed. The squirrel was much of 

 the same size and general appearance as the common black squirrel of the Atlantic States. — S. 



SCIURUS RICHARDSONII, Bach. 



Richardson's Sqnirrel. 



[For Sp. Cli. and synonymy see chap. 2, p. 96.] 



The Richardson's squirrel holds the same place in the Rocky mountains that the Douglass 

 squirrel does in the Cascades. In common with the last mentioned species, they have many 

 similarities and habits, showing a marked affinity with the red squirrel. 



This species subsists principally on the seeds of the red pine of the Rocky mountains, ? Pinus 

 ponderosa. — S. 



SCIURUS DOUGLASSII, Bach. 



Oregon Red Sqnirrel ; Pine Sqnirrel. 



[For Sp. Ch., &c., see chap. 2, p. 97, or Baird's Gen. Rep., Mammals, 1857, p. 275.] 



The western pine squirrel is found on both sides of the Cascade mountains. It feeds 



indifferently on the seeds of the pine, fir, and arbor-vitae. — G. 



The Douglass pine squirrel, in the western part of Washington Territory, takes the same 



position that the red squirrel does in the Atlantic States, having much the same size, habits, 



and (excepting color) general appearance. When disturbed by the too close approach of man 



it manifests displeasure much like the red squirrel, by chattering, "scolding," &c. It remains 



active throughout the winter, and is a very abundant resident. 



A fine male specimen of this species, killed at Fort Steilacoom, June 17, 1856, measured as 



follows : 



No. 99. Nose to occiput 2.00 inches. 



Nose to base of tail 1.50 " 



Tail vertebra3 4.50 



Tail to end of hairy tip 6.00 



Hand to end of longest nail 1-36 



16 Q 



