2l8 MAMMALIA. 



of these birds is tliscoverc^d [)erchinL;" on a liiiih near his honu^ he 

 invariably pesters it tiU it is ghid to ll\- to sonu; more conocMiial place. 



He is sometimes caged and makes an inteHigein but unrul)- and 

 destructive pet. 



In the choice of a site for his nest lie does not hmit himself 

 to an\- fixed conditions, usuall\- placing- it in a hollow limb, some- 

 times in a hole in the ground, and occasionalK' in a hollow loo- 

 The young- are oenerall}- born about the first of April, four to six 

 constitutini{ an a\-erai>"e litter. 



Where the climate is milder than it is in the; Adirondack r(!o-ion 

 the Red S(piirrel often builds outside nests. Dr. A. K. b'lsher 

 writes me that lu! has found them about the southern end of Lake 

 George, in Warren Count)-; and that tlu:\- are so common in 

 Westchester Count)-, New York, that "half a dozen nia\- be in 

 sight at one tinie in fa\-orable localities. The nest is usually situ- 

 ated near the top of some evergreen, in the niidst of a tangled 

 grape-\ine. Preference is given to the red cedar {Ju)iipcnis / Vr- 

 gi7iia?ia), for the reason, probabl\-. that this tree furnishes most of 

 the material for the nest. It may occasional!)- be found in a 

 deciduous tree. The nest, which is globular in shape, varies 

 froni two to three hundred millimetres in dianu;ter. As a rule, the 

 cavity is situated nearer the top than the bottom, thus making the 

 roof thinner than the floor. At a little distance the entrance can- 

 not be seen, for its borders fall together after the entrance or exit 

 of the animal. The; material generall)' used for the nest is the 

 soft, silk)- bark of the red cedar. .Sometimes that of the grape- 

 vine, or the inner ])ark of the chestnut, is interniixed." Mr. W. L. 

 Scott, of Ottawa, Canada, tells me that outside nests of the Red 

 Squirrel are common as far north as that place ; but it must be 

 borne in mind that lower Ontario is Alleghanian in fauna, while 

 the Adirondacks is Canadian. 



