105 



which some of the family sat every evening. The mother was very 

 much annoyed, and even alarmed when the drawer was closed during her 

 temporary absence. The male was not admitted to the drawer, but kept 

 to the box. Finally, the whole family escaped from an open window 

 and took to the woods, or fell a prey to their natural enemies ; although 

 Kennicott relates that the species has been known to take up its resi- 

 dence, voluntarily, in and about human dwellings. Be that as it may, 

 we never saw our gentle and beautiful pets again. 



Genus Sciurus Linnaus. 



Etymology : Skiouros, a squirrel {Ski — shade ; oura — tail.) 

 Sciurus, Linnffius, Syst. Nat., 10th ed., 1758, and authors. 

 Macroxus, P. Cuvier, Diet. Sci. Nat., x, 1818. 

 Rhinosciurus, Gray, Cat. Mamm. Brit. Mus., 1843, 195. 

 Rheithrosciurus, Gray, Ann. & Mag. Nat. Hist., 3d ser., xx, 1867, 272. 

 Macri.xus, Gray, Ann. & Mag. Nat. Hist., 3d ser. xx, 1867, 275. (Not 

 Macroxus, F. Cuvier.) 



Generic Characters. — SkuH. short, very broad between the orbits ; cranial 

 portion greatly expanded ; post-orbital processes long, slender,.decurved ; 

 malar-bone slender; ante-orbital foramen a narrow, vertical slit, opening 

 far in advance of first pre-molar ; upper grinding teeth four or five ; first 

 pre-molar, when two are present, very small ; muzzle short ; ears well 

 developed, well clothed, sometimes tufted ; tail generally as long or longer 

 than the body, broad, with the long hairs drooping laterally ; nail of pol- 

 lex rudimentary ; pelage full and soft, but sometimes more or less rigid ; 

 coloration variable, but never with well-defined stripes on the dorsum ; 

 size generally large ; no cheek pouches or lateral membrane. The group 

 above characterized are so homogeneous as not to be readily separated. 

 Some thirty or more nominal species are described, which Mr. Allen re- 

 duces to one-third that number. The genus reaches its fullest develop- 

 ment in Southern Mexico and Central America, the metropolis of the 

 group, where several species occur. The most obviously variable charac- 

 ter is the tail, which varies greatly in length, fullness, and breadth. 



SciuBUS HUDsoNius Pallas. 



Var. hudsonius Allen. 



Eastern Red Squirrel; Pine Squirrel; Chickaree. 



1772. Sciurus vulgaris, Forster, Phil. Trans., Ixii, 1772, 378. 



1777. Sciurus vulgaris, e, hvdsonicus, Erxleben, Syst. Anim., 1777, 416.' 



1778. Sciurus hudsonius, Pallas, Nov. Spec. Glir., 1778, 376. — Gmelin,Syst. 



Nat. i, 1788, 147.— Schreb., Saugt., iv, 1792, 777, pi. ccxiv.— 



