410 CHAPTERS ON THE NATURAL HISTORY 



of the place as you tire u load of dust shot up in his direction. 

 He is yours with hardly a visible mark upon him to indicate the 

 cause of his so suddenly pitching down among the rocks, a Tarn- 

 ias a. dorsalis stone dead. 



This chipmunk is a very different appearing little animal from 

 his more handsome congener of the Eastern States (T. striatiis). 

 And although the markings, as will be seen in the figure, are 

 quite distinct upon his head, the broad, diffuse stripes down his 

 back, on the other hand, are but feebly defined, and hardly notice- 

 able in some female specimens. He is of a dull ocherish, clay 

 color beneath, and a brownish-gray on the back, while, as I have 

 already said, the under side of the tail is a reddish chestnut 

 shade, that extends to the nether aspect of the flank, on either 

 side, where it merges with the color already described for the 

 lower parts, beyond. In March here, I have found the females of 

 this species heavy with young, and in May these latter are fully 

 two-thirds the size of the adults. So I am inclined to think that 

 they raise two litters and perhaps three in a single season. 



Other ground squirrels of this country belong to the genus 

 Spermophilus, one rich in species and subspecies, and of these I 

 have written not a little in other places, so they will not receive 

 especial attention in this chapter. 



It is the genus Sciurus, however, that contains the true specific 

 and subspecific forms of squirrels. In it we find the numerous 

 kinds of Red squirrels or Chickarees; the Gray squirrels; Fox 

 squirrels; Abert's squirrel, and a. number of others. 



The Red squirrels are so well known as to obviate the neces- 

 sity of any detailed description. There are several well-marked 

 specific and subspecific forms of them in the United States, and 

 doubtless a few geographical races yet remain to be discovered 

 and described. In conversation with Mr. Robert Ridgway, the 

 distinguished ornithologist, a short time since, he said he be- 

 lieved that the Red squirrel was one of the very worst enemies 

 that the small birds of this country had to contend against. 

 They not only destroy nests, but they will also suck birds' eggs 

 and devour their young. Mr. Ridgway lives at his country-seat 

 very near the city of Washington, D. C, and every spring not a 

 few of the more abundant birds, such as robins, catbirds, vireos, 

 and the like breed on his place. He noticed that the nests of 

 these species were often destroyed, and in the absence of cats, 

 crows, weasels, and other predacious forms he could not account 



