NATURAL HISTORY. 



ARE SQUIRRELS CARNIVOROUS ? 



Brockport, N. Y. 



You ask for certain evidence of the 

 carnivorous propensities of the red squir- 

 rel. I will give you my own experience 

 in the matter. My observations lead me 

 to believe that all the squirrel family are 

 more or less carnivorous. The European 

 squirrel has been proved guilty of de- 

 stroying eggs and young of such large 

 birds as the woodpigeon — a much more ro- 

 bust species than our once common wild 

 pigeon. I take the following from my note 

 book of June, 1893 — I was then staying in 

 Park county, Colorado, at an elevation of 

 about 10,000 feet: A pair of robins had a 

 nest on a pine close to my shanty and, as 

 these birds are by no means common there- 

 abouts, I watched them with some little in- 

 terest. One morning I heard them vocifer- 

 ating, in great alarm. I snatched up my 

 small shotgun and ran out. A dead young 

 robin, with eyes and brain eaten out, lay 

 on the ground at the foot of the tree. 

 About 10 feet up was the nest, and close to 

 it was a pine squirrel savagely munching 

 the head of another young bird, while the 

 old robins were dashing round and uttering 

 loud cries. I shot and killed the squirrel, 

 which fell with the dying bird close to my 

 feet. The squirrel was the sub-species Fre- 

 monti, so common on the upper timbered 

 slopes of Colorado. 



On another occasion, in Platte canyon, a 

 squirrel had been peculiarly noisy all the 

 morning. I at last walked round and 

 watched him for some time. He was evi- 

 dently in a bad temper. A pair of robins 

 were flying in and out of the tree and dash- 

 ing at him, giving out their alarm notes. 

 The squirrel in a furious rage chased and 

 sprang at the birds, chattering and sputter- 

 ing all the time. I found several broken 

 eggshells, in fresh condition, under the tree. 

 I could not see the nest, but had no doubt 

 that the " Piney " had broken the eggs. 

 Last summer a pine squirrel ran across the 

 road in front of me with a young bird, 

 evidently a junco, in its mouth; the old 

 birds as usual showing their distress. 



The red squirrel is also accused of driv- 

 ing away the black and gray species. It ap- 

 pears to be generally believed in the East- 

 ern States, that it is in the habit of strange- 

 ly mutilating the males of the larger 

 species; and this strange charge is appar- 

 ently supported by the undeniable fact that 

 black squirrels are frequently found in that 

 condition. This is not the work of the red 

 squirrel, however, but of a dipterous insect, 

 a kind of bob fly, Cuterebra emasculator, 

 Fitch, which lays its eggs on the squirrel. 

 The larvae hatch and work internally, thus 



accomplishing the mutilation referred to. 

 The charge of driving away the gray and 

 black varieties is easily accounted for when 

 we consider the migratory habits of this 

 species (the gray and black squirrel) which 

 are the cause of their sudden presence or 

 absence in certain localities. The pine 

 squirrel is eminently insectivorous, being 

 partial to large grasshoppers and chafers. 



The rock squirrel, Spermophilus gram- 

 murus, is a veritable pest in Colorado, 

 where domestic fowls are kept, as they de- 

 stroy both eggs and young chickens, and 

 are almost as destructive as weasels. I have 

 many times been requested by ranchmen 

 to kill them whenever I had a chance. 

 They must be also very destructive to 

 game. All the ground squirrels or chip- 

 munks will kill and eat young birds. I was 

 rambling in a piece of half cleared wood- 

 land at Kendall, N. Y., and heard a female 

 quail in great trouble. I found the cause 

 to be a common chipmunk, which had 

 caught a young quail and was eating it. It 

 dropped its prey as I flung my stick, but in 

 a few minutes it returned and ran to and 

 fro as if hunting by scent; and it found and 

 killed another young quail within a few 

 yards of me, in spite of the frantic efforts of 

 the old quail to drive off the depredator. 

 Last summer in Garfield county, Colorado, 

 I saw a " Says chipmunk," Tamia lateralis, 

 jump up and catch a pine linnet that was 

 busily engaged on a thistle, eating the 

 seeds. I also saw one catch a white bellied 

 mouse. A bag of oats had fallen from a 

 wagon, unobserved by the driver. It was 

 soon discovered by squirrels and mice of 

 various species. I sat and watched their 

 proceedings as they busied themselves in 

 gnawing holes in the sack to get at the con- 

 tents, and fought and chased each other 

 away. A pretty fawn colored mouse, with 

 white belly, found its way to the sack and 

 soon had its head in a hole. A chipmunk 

 leaped on it and killed it in an instant. 

 I ran to get the mouse, as it was a species I 

 didn't recognize; but the squirrel was too 

 quick for me and dodged under a rock 

 with it. 



This chipmunk is easily tamed if taken 

 young and kept in a cage, with a revolving 

 wheel. I kept several for years. They 

 would eat any thing. If a small dead bird 

 was given them they would eat the brain 

 and eyes first. The large hawkmoths that 

 feed on tomato plants used to come freely 

 to an electric lamp close by, and I would 

 catch many and feed my pets with them. 

 They would have the wings off in an in- 

 stant and, holding the large body up with 

 both fore feet, would commence at the head 

 and eat every morsel with great gusto. 



