410 BARN OWL. 



The Ground Squirrel. 



With the exception of the Flying Squirrel, we have no small qua- 

 druped more interesting than this. It occurs in all parts of the United 

 States, and being so beautifully marked in its colouring, is known to 

 every body. It seems to rae, by the liveliness of its motions, to be among 

 quadrupeds what the Wren is among birds ; for, like it, the Ground 

 Squirrel, full of vivacity, plays as it were with the utmost grace and agi- 

 lity among the rocky debris or the uprooted stumps of trees ; and its 

 chatter, although less musical than that of the Little Winter Wren, ex- 

 cites a peculiar pleasure as it comes on the ear. I think I see him as he 

 runs before me with the speed of thought, his tail quite erect, his chops 

 distended \vith the produce of the woods, until he reaches the entrance of 

 his retreat. Now he stands upright, clatters his little chops, and as I 

 move onwards a single step, he disappears in a moment. Stone after 

 stone I have removed from the fence, but in vain, for beneath the whole 

 the cunning creature has formed its deep and circuitous burrow. With 

 my hatchet I cut the tangled roots, and as I follow the animal into its 

 innermost recesses, I hear its angry voice. I am indeed ^vithin a few 

 inches of his last retreat, and now I see his large dark protruded eye ; 

 but at this moment out he rushes with such speed that it would be vain 

 to follow him. He has twenty burrows all ready prepared, and, delighted 

 with his foresight and sagacity, I willingly leave him uimiolested in that 

 to which he has now betaken himself. 



The Ground Squirrel varies greatly in its external appearance in dif- 

 ferent parts of the United States. In the Southern Districts it is smaller 

 than to the eastward, and the farther north you go the lighter are its 

 tints^ the differences being at least as great as those between the Barn 

 Owl of America and that of Europe. But the variations are confined to 

 size and intensity of colouring, nor can I perceive any differences indica- 

 tive of specific distinction. I am not inclined to consider variations of 

 colour sufficient to constitute species, for instance, in the case of the 

 Chimney Swallow of Europe and the Barn Swallow of America ; nor is 

 there any reason for believing that very considerable differences in size 

 may not exist in the same species ; indeed the fact is very apparent among 

 water birds especially. 



