Wherever you may find the squirrels, their nest is probably close by, hidden in a hole in one of the trees. Be careful how you thrust your hand into such an opening, however, for squirrels have sharp teeth and may resent such undue familiarity. About the first of April the nest will be filled with a promising family of little ones from four to six in number, and if you can take such a family under your supervision and “grow up with them,” as it were, you will be amply repaid by the amusement the merry little creatures will afford and by the opportunity to observe, with the privilege of an intimate friend, their house-keeping and manner of life.
You will know
The Red Squirrel
by his color, during the summer it is a red-brown with a white vest bordered on the sides with a dark line. He changes his coat twice a year, and his winter garment is duller and not nearly so red, while the vest is gray without the dark border.
When you find a squirrel’s nest in the crotch of a tree instead of in a hole you may be pretty sure it belongs to the gray squirrel, which is said to be the most easily tamed of all its family.
Do not mistake
The Chipmunk
for a squirrel, although he does resemble one and his lively chatter seems to be in the same language. He is, in fact, sometimes called a ground squirrel, but in reality he is only a distant cousin.
You will not be so apt to find him in the interior of the woods as in more open places; his favorite promenade is the top of a stone wall or rail fence. He is a little fellow with a flat, bushy tail and well-developed cheek pouches, which he fills with seeds and nuts until his cheeks are puffed out equal to a boy’s when he eats an apple.
The tawny little chipmunk of the Eastern States has two white stripes and five narrow black ones down its back. In the West there are other varieties, the little black and white striped fellow of the Rocky Mountains being the prettiest and tamest.