126 HUDSON'S BAY SQUIRREL, CHICKAREE, ETC. 



molars are set down as ^—^ or ^=1 ; and we will for the present as- 

 sign the former arrangement to this species. Forehead, very slightly 

 arched ; nose, somewhat obtuse ; eyes, of ^moderate size ; ears, broad, 

 rounded, clothed on both sides with short hairs, not distinctly tufted like 

 those of the European Squirrel, {Sc. vulgaris,) although the hairs, when 

 the animal has its winter pelage, project beyond the margins, and resem- 

 ble tufts ; whiskers, a little longer than the head ; the body presents the 

 appearance of lightness and agility ; the tail is somewhat depressed, and 

 linear, not as bushy as in most other squirrels, but capable of a distichous 

 arrangement ; limbs, robust ; claws, compressed, sharp, slightly hooked ; 

 third toe a little the longest ; palms, and under surface of the toes, 

 naked ; soles of hind-feet, clothed with hair, except on the tubercles at 

 the roots of the toes. 



This species exhibits some shades of difference in colour, and we have 

 sometimes, although very rarely, found a specimen that might be regard- 

 ed as a variety. General colour, deep reddish-brown on the whole of the 

 upper surface ; short fur beneath, plumbeous, mixed with so large a quan- 

 tity of longer hairs, that the colour of the fur, does not show^ on the 

 surface. These long hairs are dark at the roots, then brown, and are 

 slightly tipped with black. In most specimens, there is an orange hue on 

 the outer surface of the fore-legs, running up to the shoulder ; this colour 

 is also frequently visible on the upper surface of the hind-feet, and be- 

 hind the ears. Whiskers, black ; tail, on the upper surface, deep reddish- 

 bro^vn ; the hair on the sides may be so arranged, as to present a line of 

 black near the outer borders ; on the under side it has two or three annu- 

 lations of light-brown and black ; lips, chin, throat, inside of legs, and 

 belly, white ; in some specimens the hairs on these parts of the body are 

 plumbeous at the roots, and white to the tips, giving it a light, grayish- 

 white appearance. There is in a great many specimens a black line, 

 running from near the shoulders along the sides to within an inch of the 

 thighs. 



DIMENSIONS. 



Recent specimen. 



Length from nose to root of tail 



Tail (vertebrEe) - - . . . 



Tail to end of hair - . . . . 



hes. 

 8 



Lines. 

 



3 



7 



6 



5 



