Local Notes on the Gray Squirrel ! 
WILLIAM. T. Davis 
With the passing of the onetime considerably wooded areas of 
Staten Island, the death of all of the chestnut trees large enough 
to bear fruit, and the near death of most of the hickories through 
the burning of the woodland and subsequent work of a destructive 
Scolytid beetle, the native gray squirrels had to do one of two 
things, either die out completely or change their habits by becom- 
ing more domestic. Fortunately they were able to attain the lat- 
ter. This has been achieved by their intelligence aided by their 
considerable size and agility. No doubt the chipmunk, which is 
becoming rare on Staten Island, might have maintained itself if it 
had not been for that subsidized prowler the domestic cat. While 
‘we have seen a cat chase a gray squirrel, and know that they some- 
times kill them, yet a full grown gray squirrel is not likely to be 
molested by the average cat. | 
On March 29, 1913, some boys found a squirrel’s nest near 
Richmond which contained three young ones. They were covered 
with hair but their eyes were not yet open. Unfortunately the 
boys took the young, which they brought to the Public Museum. 
We have found in a nest, probably made by a crow and later 
covered over and lined by a squirrel, nearly full grown young on 
the 18th of April. Occasionally in the late summer or fall there 
is a second brood of squirrels. 3 
Once there were a great many red cedar trees on the island and 
the gray squirrels often used the soft bark for their nests. This 
was stuffed in some hollow in a tree or served as lining for the 
large nests made of small dry branches or of leaves. An old nest 
of a crow 1s indeed very often used as a foundation for these nests. 
On Dec. 20, 1885, I found a large nest made entirely of cedar bark, 
the middle portion being very fine so that the squirrel could bur- 
row in it with ease. There was a hole facing the south or south- 
west and just over a large branch so that the occupant could use 
1 Read at the regular meeting of the Institute October 20, 1923. 
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