196 



THE OBSERVER. 



five young (from one to three days old) under the siding of an old 

 house. They were nestled closely together and the young were cling- 

 ing to their parents. 



Vesperugo georgianus. Georgian Bat. — The commonest bat. On 

 warm summer evenings when the conditions of atmosphere and insects 

 are just right, hundreds may be seen flying back and forth over fields 

 or lakes, busily engaged in collected their diminutive prey. The young, 

 which as far as we know are always twins, are born about the middle 

 of June. Some remarks we made years ago* on Vespertilio subulatus 

 really refer to this species, the former never having been taken at 

 Sing Sing. 



Atalapha cinerea. Hoary Bat. — On the evening of October i, 1883, 

 one of these beautiful bats was seen flying about a lawn, where it was 

 well identified. Scarcely two months before the writer had become 

 perfectly familiar with the appearance and flight of the species, having 

 seen and killed numbers of them in the edge of the Adirondack region. 

 Consequently he feels reasonably sure that the indentification is correct. 

 A friend who had examined a number of specimens was sure he saw one 

 flying along the edge of the river, Sept. 27, 1885. 



Atalapha boi'ealis. Red Bat. — Next to the little Georgian bat the 

 red bat is the commonest species. It is one of the first to appear in 

 the evening and towards the end of the season hardly waits for the sun 

 to set before starting out in search of food. 



The female brings forth usually two, sometimes three young, which 

 appear about the second week in June. The period of gestation there- 

 fore is a little over ten months, as the mating season is at its height 

 during the first week in August. The red bat is more arboreal than 

 the other species and is often seen during the day hanging among the 

 foliage of the trees. 



Tamias striatus. Chipmunk. — Common. Just as soon as the warm 

 days of March come the chipmunk leaves its winter retreat and sallies 

 forth At such times if the snow still remains on the ground its tracks 

 may be seen about the old logs and fence rows. Many kinds of nuts, 

 seeds, and berries as well as insects are eaten by this little squirrel. 

 It is tireless in its search for food, and displays as much energy while 

 collecting the minute seeds of grasses and other small plants as the 

 large nuts of the butternut and hickory. 



A7'ctomys jnonax. Woodchuck. — Common. As many as a dozen 

 have been seen at one time in a large meadow. Although they occa- 

 sionally come out of their burrows on warm days in February, it is not 



^Forest & Stream XVI, 25, July 21, 1881, 490. 



