DOUGLASS' SQUIRREL. 



371 



The whiskers, which are longer than the head, are black ; hair, from 

 the roots to near the points, plumbeous, tipped with brownish-gray, a 

 few lighter coloured hairs interspersed, giving it a dark-brown appear- 

 ance. When closely examined it has the appearance of being thickly 

 sprinkled with minute points of rust colour on a black ground. The tail, 

 which is distichous but not broad, is for three-fourths of its length the 

 colour of the back ; in the middle the fur is plumbeous at the roots, 

 then irregularly marked with brow^n and black, and is tipped with dull 

 white, giving it a hoary appearance ; on the extremity of the tail the 

 hairs are black from the roots, and are tipped with light brovni ; the 

 belly, the inner sides of the extremities and the outer surfaces of the feet, 

 together with the throat and mouth and a line above and under the 

 eyes, are bright-buff. The colours on the upper and under parts are 

 separated by a line of black, commencing at the shoulders, and running 

 along the flanks to the thighs ; this line is broadest in the middle of the 

 body and is there about three lines wide, narrowing from thence to a 

 point. The hairs, which project beyond the outer margins of the ears 

 and form a slight tuft, are dark-brown, and in some specimens black. 



DIMENSIONS. 



Length from point of nose to insertion of tail 



Tail (vertebrae) 



Tail, including fur . 



Height of ear posteriorly . 



Palm to end of middle fore-claw 



Heel and middle hind-claw 



ches 



Lines 



8 



4 



4 



6 



6 



4 







6 



1 



4 



1 



10 



Our specimens of Douglass' Squirrel were procured by Mr. Townsend. 

 He remarks in his notes : — " This is a very plentiful species, inhabits the 

 pine trees along the shores of the Columbia River, and like our common 

 Carolina squirrel lays in a great quantity of food for consumption during 

 the winter months. This food consists of the cones of the pine, with a 

 few acorns. Late in autumn it may be seen very busy in the tops of the 

 trees, throwing down its winter-stock ; after which, assisted by its mate, 

 it gathers in and stows away its store, in readiness for its long incarcer. 

 ation," 



