42 THE TAIGA, OR CONIFEROUS 



The red deer seem to feed chiefly on the outskirts of 

 the forest or in the open glades, but the American 

 wapiti eats a considerable amount of leaves and twigs. 

 The Virginian deer also eats a large amount of forest 

 produce, sharing with many other animals, both birds 

 and mammals, a great fondness for beech mast, which 

 it obtains in winter by pawing away the snow. It 

 extends into Canada, but its true home is rather further 

 south than the taiga proper. 



The most important rodents of the taiga are the 

 various kinds of squirrels, such as the true squirrels 

 (Sciurus), the striped squirrels or chipmunks (Tamias), 

 and the flying squirrels (Sciuropterus) ; the beaver 

 (Castor) ; the Polar hare, which extends into the 

 forest region, though it is not common there. The 

 American taiga also lodges the Canadian porcupine, 

 an arboreal animal, the musquash (Fiber), a swamp 

 animal, and the American variable hare in addition to 

 the Polar hare. 



The squirrels form a very interesting group, showing 

 progressive adaptation to arboreal life. The Siberian 

 striped squirrel or chipmunk {T. asiaticus) is an example 

 of a ground form which occurs in both North America 

 and Asia, though North America has other species in 

 addition. The chipmunks feed on nuts and seeds, of 

 which they store large quantities for the winter, and, 

 like the true squirrels, they hibernate. They differ, 

 however, in living mostly on the ground, where they 

 often excavate holes. They can climb trees, but are 

 not nearly so agile as the true squirrels. The next 

 stage is represented by the American red squirrel or 

 chickaree {8. hudsonianus), which is a graceful and 

 agile climber, but spends a good part of its time upon 

 the ground, where it sometimes excavates holes. Our 



