152 The Red Squirrel 



But the food question is not settled for the chick- 

 aree even after his stock is gathered — ^there are 

 unprincipled neighbors watching to take advantage 

 of his thrift. He has little trouble from his own kind 

 in this respect, for each red squirrel is supposed to 

 have a certain territory that belongs to him, and 

 trespassers upon another's preserves are promptly 

 chased off; but there are other hungry wood folk not 

 so easily disposed of, such as the thieving bluejays, 

 which know neither bounds nor limits and which 

 are ever on the alert for a free lunch. Consequently 

 the squirrel needs to have various storehouses for his 

 food. Knowing that the jays do not care for mush- 

 rooms he places them conveniently on a limb of a neigh- 

 boring tree: but the careful little provider would 

 never think of leaving his corn and nuts in such an 

 exposed place ; these he hides in a cavity of a tree or 

 in a hole in the ground, the latter being by far the 

 safer place. 



Annoying as the bluejay often is, he sometimes 

 serves as a friend to the squirrels and to other wood 

 dwellers as well. The red squirrels, being a constant 

 target for the gunners, are very shy, and the jay often 

 sounds an alarm-note when the hunter is some dis- 

 tance away, thus warning the chickaree in time to 

 scamper away and hide himself until the danger is 



