2IO MAMMALIA. 



everything, command for him a certain degree of admiration. He 

 is arrogant, impetuous, and conceited to an extreme degree, his con- 

 fidence in his own superior capabiHties not infrequently costing him 

 his life. In fact, these contradictions in character and idios)'ncrasies 

 in disposition render him a psychological problem of no easy 

 solution. 



From earliest dawn till the setting sun has disapix-arcd behind the 

 distant hills, the Red Squirrel enlivens the silent solitude of the forest 

 with his merr)' wa}'s and sauc\- chatterings ; and he ma)- sometimes 

 be discovered in the darkest hours of the night, stealing softly over 

 the ground— bent, doubtless, on some errand of dul)ious propriet)'. 

 Moonlight evenings he is often as active, though not so nois)'. as 

 during the day, and in early autumn he vies with the f]\ing s(|uirrel 

 in nocturnal nutduisking exploits. Thougli an expert climber, 

 delighting in long leaps from bough to bouuh. which he executes 

 wnth grace and precision, he spends far more time on the ground than 

 the other arboreal squirrels, sometinies even making his home in 

 holes in the earth. Old logs, stumps, wood-piles, and brush-heaps 

 are favorite places of resort, and, by excavating burrows beneath, he 

 converts them into the securest of retreats. Our fences serve as 

 highways upon which he travels from wood to wood, and the zig-zag 

 rail fence in particular is one of the boons of his existence. It is his 

 most frequented path, his playground, his race-course, and when 

 pursued, his readiest means of escape. It is the step-ladder from 

 which he leaps into the branches of neighboring trees, and the place 

 w^here he meets his friends at all hours of the day. He frequendy 

 follows it to the farm-house and takes up his abode in the woodshed 

 or other outbuilding, placing his nest between the ceiling and roof, 

 or in some other equally out-of-the-way spot, whence he is with great 

 difficulty dislodged. 



He is the least w^ary of the squirrels, rarely taking the trouble to 

 hide himself at the approach of man. In fact, on such occasions he 

 usually assumes an aggressive attitude, chippers, shakes his tail in an 



