The home of both the Abert and the Kaibab squirrels is almost entirely between 6,000 and 9,500 feet altitude, on the mountain slopes and high plateaus overgrown with a splendid open forest of yellow pine mixed in many places with firs and aspens. Occasionally, as food becomes scarce in their ordinary haunts, they range up into the firs or down into the oaks and piñon pines. In winter their haunts are buried in snow, but in summer on every hand present lovely vistas among the massive tree trunks, varied here and there by gemlike parks. Everywhere the ground is covered with grasses and multitudes of flowering plants. In the wilder parts of this fascinating wilderness roam bears, mountain lions, wolves, deer, and wild turkeys, and only a few decades ago still wilder men, belonging to some of our most dreaded Indian tribes.

Although these squirrels commonly make use of large knot-holes or other hollows in trees, they regularly build high up in the branches bulky nests of leaves, pine needles, and twigs and line them with soft grass and shredded bark. Sometimes several full-grown squirrels may be found occupying one of these outside nests, probably members of one family. They are active throughout the year, but remain in their nests during storms and severe winter weather. In northern Arizona I have known them to stay under cover for a week or two at a time in midwinter.

The young appear to be born at varying times between April and September. Although not definitely known, it seems probable that they have two litters of from three to four young each season.

The seeds and the tender bark from the terminal twigs of the yellow pine (Pinus ponderosa) furnish their principal food supply. During periods when pine seeds are not available the squirrels cut the ends of pine twigs, letting the terminal part bearing the leaves fall to the ground, while the stem, several inches in length, is stripped of bark. Often at times of food scarcity the bark will be eaten for a considerable distance along the outer branches, almost like the work of porcupines. The ground under the pines where the squirrels are at work is sometimes almost covered with the freshly dropped tips of branches.

The Abert squirrels also eat the seeds of Douglas spruce, of the piñon pine, acorns, many seeds, roots, green vegetation, mushrooms, birds’ eggs, and young birds. Now and then they rob cornfields planted in clearings, but they do little damage to crops. Some years they are extremely numerous and are in evidence everywhere; again they become scarce and so wary that it is difficult to see one, even where its fresh workings are in evidence.

Both these squirrels have a deep churring or chucking call, sometimes becoming a barking note resembling that of the fox squirrel. They also have a variety of chattering and scolding notes when excited or angry. At times they become almost as aggressive as the red squirrel and come down the tree trunk or to a lower branch, whence they scold and berate the object of their disapproval.

When much alarmed they are expert at hiding among tufts of leaves near the ends of branches, on tops of large limbs, or behind trunks. They will remain hidden in this way for an hour or more, patiently waiting for the danger to disappear, but one is often betrayed by the wind blowing the feathery tip of its tail into view.

On the ground the tail is usually carried upraised in graceful curves. Here these squirrels spend much time among fallen cones and in digging for roots and other food. When they walk they have an awkward waddling gait, but when they are alarmed, or desire to move more rapidly for any cause, they progress in a series of extremely graceful bounds, which show the plumelike tail to good advantage. When the Kaibab squirrel is moving about on the ground its great white tail is extraordinarily conspicuous in the sunshine. This repeatedly drew my attention to these squirrels, even at such long distances that they would otherwise have been overlooked.

SHORT-TAILED SHREW
Blarina brevicauda COMMON SHREW
Sorex personatus