ZOOLOGY. 
57 
S. douglasii is a brighter and handsomer species than S. beecheyi, with which it is commonly- 
confounded. It has, too, a dark, almost heart-shaped spot on the shoulders, which is wanting 
in S. beecheyi. It is apparently more boreal in its range, as the most common species about San 
Francisco and Santa Clara is S. beeclieyi , while in the Upper Sacramento valley, and the Klamath 
lake basin we found only S. douglasii. I saw in the pedregal region of Pit river a smaller 
species, different from both, and possibly new, but I could not secure specimens. 
The owl which lives with the spermophiles is Athene liypugaea, the same found with the 
prairie dogs. Rattlesnakes we did not see with them, but they are common enough everywhere, 
and may live with the owls and squirrels. The idea so prevalent that the owls and squirrels 
occupy the same burrow at the same time is probably erroneous, the owl generally taking pos¬ 
session of the deserted burrows of the squirrels. The rattlesnakes are probably not very obser¬ 
vant of the rights of property, but make themselves at home wherever they find comfortable 
lodgings and meals furnished at the cost of the least labor to themselves. 
Specimens were collected at Klamath lake, 0. T. 
SPERMOPHILUS BEECHEYI. 
California Ground Squirrel. 
Arclomys ( Spermophilus ) beecheyi, Richardson, Fauna Boreali-Americana I, 1829, 170 ; plate xii, B. 
Spermophilus beecheyi, Baird, Gen. Rep. Mammals, 1857, 307. 
Sp. Cii. —Size of the cat squirrel, S. cinereus. Ears large, prominent. Tail more than two-thirds as long as the body. 
Above, mixed with black, yellowish brown, and brown in indistinct mottlings; beneath, pale yellowish brown. Sides of head 
and neck, hoary yellowish, more or less lined with black ; a more distinct stripe of the same, from behind the ears on each 
side, extending above the shoulders to the middle of the body. Ears black on their inner face. Dorsal space between the 
stripes scarcely darker than the rest of the back. Length, 9 to 11 inches ; tail, with hairs, 7 to 9. Hind feet, 2 to 2. 30 inches. 
In speaking of S. douglasii , I have given the generalities of the habits of both species, for 
they are nearly the same. The two species are not distinguished by the people of the country, 
and are frequently found in the same place. The dark spot on the back of S. douglasii, with 
its more northern habit, will serve to distinguish it. The colors of S. beecheyi are all less bright 
and handsome than those of the allied species, of which the dappling is clean white on a dark 
ground, while in S. beecheyi the colors are much as in Cynomys ludovicianus, all dull and dirty. 
The flesh of both species is fat, tender, and well flavored, and usually regarded as preferable 
to that of the tree squirrels. It is, however, much more rarely brought to the market of San 
Francisco than Sciurus fossor, I was told, because so many of them had been poisoned by the 
farmers. To rid themselves of so great pests, they have used strychnine freely, thereby exciting 
a natural distrust of any which might be offered for sale. 
SPERMOPHILUS LATERALIS. 
Say’s Squirrel. 
Sciurus lateralis, Sat, Long’s Exped. R. Mts. II, 1823, 46. (Arkansas river, lat. 38°.25; long. 105°.20; July 16.) 
Spermophilus lateralis, Aud. & Bacii. N. Am. Quad. Ill, 1853, 62 ; pi. cxiv. 
Baird, Gen. Rep. Mammals, 1857, 312. 
Sp. Ch.—E ars conspicuous, high. Tail, with hairs, more than half as long as head and body ; depressed. Middle region 
of the back finely grizzled yellowish grey and black, without any lines ; on each side two distinct black stripes, enclosing a 
yellowish white one, all of about the same diameter. Posterior half of the thigh and rump dark chestnut brown, without 
stripes. Top of the head chestnut. Under surface of tail bright chestnut; margined with brownish yellow, within which 
is a black band. Length about 7 inches ; tail with hairs, about 4 ; hind foot, from heel, 1.42 inches. 
This Tamias-like species was first described by iSay, and not obtained by any of the recent 
government expeditions till we found it in the Des Chutes basin. 
8 BB 
