698 SCIURID^— SCIURUS 



it gradually supersedes the old coat, which remains longest on the 

 rump and the backs of the thighs. Notwithstanding this general 

 sequence a patch on the occiput may be latest, and another small patch 

 on the centre of the rump may be the earliest to change. The spring 

 change is remarkable for its " patchy " progress. The summer coat is 

 usually borne until towards the end of October ; but a specimen killed 

 at Kilmanock on 20th November 1898 still retained it, the body-fur 

 being thin and reddish, and the tail bleached. 



The winter body-coat is long and soft, the hairs inconspicuously 

 annulated with brown and dull white, their length about 25 mm. 

 on the rump. It makes its first appearance towards the end of 

 October, and almost immediately starts to bleach, a process continued 

 steadily throughout the winter until the whole animal, with the 

 exception of its rufous limbs, reaches in February or March a uniform 

 dull yellow or drab tint. The spring change to the new coat usually 

 occurs before it can reach the stage of cream colour attained by 

 the tail. 



The tail-hairs have a cycle running for twelve months from July or 

 August, at which time they make their first appearance as a short 

 blackish covering amongst the roots of their ragged and bleached 

 predecessors. In September, or earlier,^ they become visible externally, 

 and begin to replace the bleached hairs. Almost imnjediately after 

 the new growth is completed, they commence to bleach and pass 

 through various shades of brown, pale brown, dull yellowish-brown, 

 until by the following June, July, or August, sometimes even in April, 

 they are almost white. Animals in an intermediate condition present 

 an interesting appearance, in which the tail may be more or less 

 piebald, the middle third of its breadth dusky, with a fringe on each 

 side of ragged, bleached hairs. 



Bleaching starts at the tail-tip, which is rarely seen in the full 

 brown condition, and proceeds bodywards. At the same time the hairs 

 gradually wear down or fall out, so that the old tail-coat is thin and 

 poor. The new growth takes place from the body end and reaches the 

 terminal hairs last. 



There is no evidence of a regular spring renewal of the tail-hairs. 

 But at least one specimen (mentioned by Thomas), killed on 24th May, 

 shows a growth of new hairs, which, however, may represent a case of 

 very early renewal for autumn, and exactly resembles autumn skins. 



The hairs of the ear-tufts follow the cycle of those of the tail. They 

 are first noticeable in September, at which time they are dark brown. 



1 One with the tail in a transitional condition was seen at Kilmanock on 

 2 1 St July 1895, and another with a white tail at the same place on 22nd December 

 1893. Specimens with dark tails in August are recorded by Butterfield, Zoologist, 

 1896, 348, and G. W. Smith, ibid., 376. 



