104 



and south range becoming smaller to the southward, prevails decidedly in 

 the Sciuridas, and the Flying Squirrel is no exception. 



Description and Habits. — The following description and measurements 

 are from Robert Kennicott's Report on the Quadrupeds of Illinois, in the 

 Report of the Commissioner of Patents, 1856 : 



•' Length of old male in March, from nose to root of tall, 4^ inches; vertebrae of tail, 3 

 inches ; tail to end of hair, 37^ inches ; breadth of tail in natural position, 1^ inches ; 

 width across back, including far and flying membrane, 4 inches ; length of supplemental 

 bone supporting membrane, f inch, 



"This is certainly the most beautiful of oar roients In the specimen before me, the 

 long and exquisitely soft fur is slate colored, tipped with creamy-yellowish drab on the 

 back ; the top of the tail brownish drab ; on the under surface milk-white, tipped with 

 cream color at the outer edges of the membrane and toward the tail, the under surface 

 of which is very light brownish-yellow, tinged with cream. 



"The large, prominent eyes are black and lustrous ; the whiskers long, and the nearly 

 naked ears rather large. The tail is densely clothed with soft hairs, and smoothly flat- 

 tened ; the feet are slender, with small, arched nails. The skin on the side is extended 

 outward to form a membrane, which is attached to the legs, and to a supplemental slen- 

 der curved bone, articulating with the joint of the foot. When this membrane is 

 stretched, the animal is enabled to sail through the air to some distance by the force 

 gained in descending from any elevated position, being aided in this by the flattened 

 tail, which also serves as a rudder. It is not to be supposed, however, that the flying 

 squirrel can propel itself through the air like a bird or bat. The tail and membranes 

 OBly form a sort of parachute to buoy it up, while the force gained by the descent, and 

 by the spring made, carry it forward. When it is about to light it sails upward by using 

 the tail and hinder parts as a rudder, the momentum acquired being sufficient to raise it 

 for some height at a considerable curve.'' 



The habitat of the Flying Squirrel rs strictly among the trees ; it does 

 not move about by day, except in cloudy weather. I have seen them in 

 the late evening sailing from the top of one tree trunk to the base of 

 another, but never on the ground. It is gregarious, assembling in hol- 

 low trees, from which as many as a dozen will dart when the sides of 

 their retreat is thoroughly thumped. Its food is similar to that of other 

 squirrels. A pair, kept in confinement under the observation of the 

 author, made their nest in a crayon-box placed over a bay window. In 

 the evening they would come to the floor and take up any kind of nuts, 

 ends of ears of pop-corn, and similar food, which was packed away in the 

 box in excess of their daily meals. Their favorite amusement was to 

 jump from the highest point of the transoms directly toward occupants 

 of the sitting room, suddenly veeriug to the right or left when almost in 

 one's face, and alighting on the floor or furniture at the opposite side of 

 the room. The female joined with the male in these amusements until 

 in April when, heavy with young, she became sluggish. The young, 

 four in number, were brought forth in the drawer of the library table, at 



