105 
which some of the family sat every evening. The mother was very 
much annoyed, and even alarmed when the drawer was closed during her . 
temporary absence. The male was not admitted to the drawer, but kept 
to the box. Finally, the whole family escaped from an open window 
and took to the woods, or fell a prey to their natural enemies; although 
Kennicott relates that the species has been known to take up its resi- 
dence, voluntarily, in and about human dwellings. Be that as it may, 
we never saw our gentle and beautiful pets again. 
Genus Scrurus Linnzus. 
Htymology: Skiowros, a squirrel (Ski—shade ; owra—tail.) 
Sciurus, Linneus, Syst. Nat., 10th ed., 1758, and authors. 
Macroxus, F. Cuvier, Dict. Sci. Nat., x, 1818. 
Rhinosciurus, Gray, Cat. Mamm. Brit. Mus., 1848, 195. 
Rhethrosciurus, Gray, Ann. & Mag. Nat. Hist., 3d ser., xx, 1867, 272. 
Maercaus, Gray, Ann. & Mag. Nat. Hist., 3d ser. xx, 1867, 275. (Not 
Macroxus, F. Cuvier.) 
Generic Characters.—Skul short, very broad between the orbits; cranial 
portion greatly expanded; post-orbital processes long, slender, decurved ; 
malar-bone slender; ante-orbital foramen a narrow, vertical slit, opening 
far in advance of first pre-molar; upper grinding teeth four or five; first 
pre-molar, when two are present, very small; muzzle short; ears well 
developed, well clothed, sometimes tufted ; tail generally as long or longer 
than the body, broad, with the long hairs drooping laterally ; nail of pol- 
lex rudimentary; pelage full and soft, but sometimes more or less rigid ; 
coloration variable, but never with well-defined stripes on the dorsum ; 
size generally large; no cheek pouches or lateral membrane. The group 
above characterized are so homogeneous as not to be readily separated. . 
Some thirty or more nominal species are described, which Mr. Allen re- 
duces to one-third that number. The genus reaches its fullest develop- 
ment in Southern Mexico and Central America, the metropolis of the 
group, where several species occur. The most obviously variable charac- 
ter is the tail, which varies greatly in length, fullness, and breadth. 
ScIluRUS HUDSONIUS Pallas. 
Var. hudsonius Allen, 
EASTERN RED SQUIRREL; PINE SQUIRREL; CHICKAREE. 
1772. Sciwrus vulgaris, Forster, Phil. Trans., lxii, 1772, 378. 
1777. Sciurus vulgaris, e, hudsonicus, Wrxleben, Syst. Anim., 1777, 416. 
1778. Sciwrus hudsonius, Pallas, Nov. Spec. Glir., 1778, 376.—Gmelin, Syst. 
Nat. 1, 1788, 147.—Schreb., Saugt., iv, 1792, 777, pl. cexiv.— 
