132 THE LIVING ANIMALS OF THE WORLD 
when they first come down 
from the trees. Ina garden in 
the country a pair of squirrels 
had a family every summer for 
five years, but none ever sur- 
vived the cats’ persistent at- 
tacks. These squirrels were 
most amusing and _ improvi- 
dent. They used to hide 
horse-chestnuts, small pota- 
toes, kernels of stone fruit, 
bulbs of crocuses, and other 
treasures in all kinds of places, 
and then forget them. After 
deep snows they might be seen 
scampering about looking into 
every hole and crevice to see 
whether that happened to be 
the place where they had hid- J se os 
den something useful. Much of Photo ty W7. P. Dando] [Regent's Park 
the store was buried amongthe DORSAL SQUIRREL FROM CENTRAL AMERICA 
roots, of trees and bushes, and A most beautiful species. The main colour is red, but the back is French gray, and the tail 
quite ‘hidden when the snow fell. French gray and red mingled. 
THE FLYING-SQUIRRELS, 
One of the finest squirrels is the Tacuan, a large squirrel of India, Ceylon, and the Malacca 
forests. It is a “flying-squirrel,” with a body 2 feet long, and a bushy tail of the same length. 
Being nocturnal, it is not often seen; but when it leaps it unfolds a flap of skin on either side, 
which is stretched (like a sail) when the fore and hind limbs are extended in the act of leaping ; 
it then forms a parachute. The colour of this squirrel is gray, brown, and pale chestnut. There 
are a number of different flying-squirrels in China, Formosa, and Japan, and in the forests of 
Central America. One small flying-squirrel, the PoLtatroucne is found in Northeast Russia 
and Siberia. It flies from tree to tree with immense bounds, assisted by the “floats” on its 
sides. danen only six inches long, it can cover distances of 30 feet and more without diffi- 
— culty. Wherever there are birch 
forests this little squirrel is found. 
In Africa, south of the Sahara, 
the place of the Oriental flying- 
squirrel is taken by a separate family. 
They have a different arrangement of 
the parachute from that of the flying- 
squirrels of India. This wide fold 
of skin is supported in the Asiatic 
squirrels by a cartilage extending 
from the wrist. In the South Afri- 
can flying-squirrels this support 
springs from the elbow, not from the 
Photo by A. 8. Rudland & Sons wrist; they have also horny plates 
ASIATIC CHIPMUNKS on the under-surface of the tail. 
Many of the tropical flying-squirrels 
Small ground-sguirrels which store food for the winter 
