OEDEE OP EODENTIA. 



479 



tree ; or, again, they jump to the ground from elevations which 

 seem to threaten, their destruction. But these acrobatic feats do 

 not at all injure them, and immediately afterwards they will 

 begin to gambol about in every conceivable manner. Their tail 

 is in truth of the greatest assistance in these perilous flights, 

 in which they often clear distances of twelve or fifteen paces. 



* (»!> 







Fig. 206. — European Squirrel {Sciurus eiiropeus). 



Carried horizontally during the jump, it presents a wide flattened 

 surface to the air, and, with the extended members, offers a resist- 

 ance to the atmosphere. 



The Squirrel chiefly lives upon hazel-nuts, beech-nuts, acorns, 

 almonds, chestnuts, and fruit. However, on occasions it will 

 become carnivorous, for when it finds a bird's-nest it cleverly 

 sucks the eggs, or devours the tenants. In northern countries 



