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THE MONTHLY BULLETIN. 



The California Ground Squirrel is probably known by sight to more 

 people than any other one of our four hundred kinds of native mam- 

 mals. It inhabits open ground in well-settled territory and it forages 

 abroad during the daylight hours when its movements are most likely 

 to attract attention. Numbers are to be seen from the windows of 

 passing trains, and the traveller by automobile is often thrilled by the 

 narrow escapes of those heedless individuals which dash across the 

 road immediately in advance of him, not infrequently to their own 

 undoing. Then, too, this squirrel has, perhaps, been more widely 

 advertised than any of our other mammals. A few years ago it came 

 into prominence as a proven disseminator of the dreaded bubonic plague, 

 and it has become notorious for its exceeding destructiveness to culti- 

 vated crops. 



The term " Digger Squirrel" is often applied to this species, more espe- 

 cially in the foothill and mountain regions, in recognition of its burrow- 

 ing habits, to distinguish it from the tree-inhabiting gray and red 

 squirrels. The book name, Beechey Ground Squirrel, much used in 

 the literature relating to it, is derived from the accepted scientific 

 name Citellus beecheyi. This name, beecheyi, was bestowed upon the 

 animal by its original describer (Richardson, 1829, p. 170) "in honour 

 of the able and scientific Commander of the Blossom, " Captain F. W. 

 Beechey. The British ship "Blossom" cruised the Pacific Ocean north- 

 ward even to Bering Strait during the years 1825 to 1828. Collections 

 of specimens were brought back from many localities visited, including 

 San Francisco and Monterey; among these specimens was one or more 

 of the squirrels in question. These were evidently preserved for the 

 most part by Mr. Collie, surgeon of the ship, who is quoted by Richard- 

 son as stating that "this kind of Spermophile 'burrows in great num- 

 bers in the sandy declivities and dry plains in the neighbourhood of 

 San Francisco and Monterey, in California, close to the houses. They 

 frequently stand up on their hind legs when looking round about them. 

 In running, they carry the tail generally straight out, but when passing 

 over any little inequality, it is raised, as if to prevent it being soiled. 

 In rainy weather, and when the fields are wet and dirty, they come 

 out but little above ground.' " And further information is given, 

 according, for the most part, with what anyone can see for himself 

 today in the same general region. This attests to the acuteness of 

 observation of Mr. Collie, and also shows how the squirrels had already, 

 some ninety years ago, begun to impress people with their numbers and 

 boldness. 



The California Ground Squirrel may be distinguished from other 

 members of the squirrel family by the combination in it of the fallowing 

 characters : essentially ground-dwelling habits, relatively large size, long 

 bushy tail, tall pointed ears, and generally grayish coloration with a 

 three-cornered silvery white patch on each shoulder. Close inspection 

 discloses a finely dappled pattern of coloration (see Fig. 2') such as is 

 not shown in any tree squirrel or in any of our other ground squirrels 

 except its near relatives, the Douglas, Fisher, Rock and Catalina Island 

 squirrels. The detailed descriptions, measurements, etc., as given in 

 the accompanying small-type paragraphs, should be studied for further 

 particulars in this connection. 



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