Chapter 30

SIZE.--About the same as the last, or Dr. Anderson says: "In the form referable to _S. Blythii_, a white spot occurs on the inguinal region of the thigh in the position in which the rufous of the so-called red-legged squirrels is developed. The groin in some of these squirrels shows also a decided rufous tinge, while the remainder of the belly is sullied grey white. If these forms were without the white thigh-spot, they would exactly conform to the type of _S. Assamensis_. A squirrel in the British Museum, labelled _S. Tytleri_ (Verreau, 'Indes Orientales'), agrees with _S. Blythii_" ('A. and Z. Res.', p. 249).

Blyth has seen a squirrel of this species renewing its coat, and assuming a variegated appearance during its transition to the breeding dress.

A jet-black squirrel of the same proportion occurs in Sylhet and Cachar, which Dr. Anderson is inclined to think belongs also to this species.

We may, therefore, regard the following as being the same as _S. lokroides_, viz., _S. Assamensis_, _S. Blythii_, _S. similis_, and the black one, which has apparently not been named.

Jerdon states that these squirrels are mostly seen in the autumn when the chestnuts, of which they are very fond, ripen.

NO. 279. SCIURUS PYGERYTHRUS.

HABITAT.--Burmah (Lower Pegu, and common in the neighbourhood of Rangoon).

DESCRIPTION.--Upper parts dark olive grey; basal third of the tail concolorous with the back, its latter two-thirds ringed olive-yellow and black; the tip black; feet olive grey, sometimes washed with yellowish; under surface and inside of limbs orange yellow, which extends also along the middle of the under part of the tail. Paler varieties occur. The skull of this species is smaller than those of _S. caniceps_, _S. Phayrei_ and _S. Blanfordii_.

NO. 280. SCIURUS CANICEPS. _The Golden-backed Squirrel_.

HABITAT.--Burmah (Upper Tenasserim and Tavoy).

DESCRIPTION.--General colour grey or fulvous above; limbs outside grizzled grey; feet yellowish-grey; in some cases the nape, shoulders, and upper parts of back are vivid light ferruginous or golden fulvous, sometimes extending downwards on to the base of the tail. Some have only a trace of this colouring, others none at all. There is infinite variety of colouring in this species, as I observed in my remarks on the genus, and it is closely allied to the next three, if they do not ultimately prove to be the same.

"Out of a large series of specimens referable to _S. caniceps_, the males illustrate three phases of colouring, associated with a difference in the character of the fur. The first is a grey, the second a yellowish, and the third a phase in which the back becomes brilliant yellowish-red."--_Anderson_.

NO. 281. SCIURUS PHAYREI. _The Laterally-banded or Phayre's Squirrel_.

HABITAT.--Burmah. Common in Martaban; has also been obtained at Tounghu.

DESCRIPTION.--Upper parts dark olive grey; lower parts rich orange red; the same colour being more or less continued along the under surface of the tail; the orange colour extends over the inside of the limbs, the front of the thigh and on the feet; the fore-limbs are dusky outside, with pale rufous yellow feet. Its chief distinguishing mark is a brown well-defined dark band on the flanks between the colour of the upper and lower parts.

NO. 282. SCIURUS BLANFORDII. _Blanford's Squirrel_.

HABITAT.--Upper Burmah.

DESCRIPTION.--Pale grey above, finely punctulated with black and grey; tail concolorous, with a black tip; under parts pale orange yellow; hands and feet yellow. Dr. Anderson shot a female at Pudeepyo, in the beginning of January, which had a distinct tendency to the formation of a dusky lateral stripe, as in the last species; the under-parts also were much more rich orange than in the type of this species. In the grey phase of _S. caniceps_ that species is so like _S. Blanfordii_ in the colouring of the upper parts and feet that it is almost impossible to distinguish them, but, according to Dr. Anderson, "on examining the under parts it is found that in these phases of _S. caniceps_ they are grey, whereas in _S. Blanfordii_ they are a beautiful rich orange, and the feet are yellow."

Before proceeding to the next species, which is a better marked one, I will quote one more passage from Dr. Anderson's careful comparison of the four preceding squirrels. "_S. Phayrei_ corresponds in the colour of the upper fur to the yellow phase of _S. caniceps_, and the tail is the same as in it, having a black tip, which is the character also that that appendage has in _S. pygerythrus_. In some examples of _S. Phayrei_ the dusky or blackish is not confined to the lateral line, but extends over the outside of the fore-limbs, the feet being always yellow in squirrels presenting these characters. Some specimens of _S. pygerythrus_ show a distinct tendency to have yellow feet, and further research will probably prove _S. Phayrei_ to be only a variety of _S. pygerythrus_. When Blyth first encountered this form, he simply regarded it as a variety of _S. pygerythrus_, and I believe his first opinion will be ultimately found to be more in accordance with the real interpretation of the facts than the conclusion he afterwards adopted. In the Paris Museum there is an example of _S. Blanfordii_ from Upper Burmah which distinctly shows a dark lateral streak, so that, taking into consideration the other examples to which I have already referred, there seems to be a presumption that it and _S. Phayrei_ are one and the same species, and that they are probably identical with _S. pygerythrus_; moreover, my impression is that a more extensive series will establish their identity with _S. caniceps_. This view of the question is also supported by a small series of these squirrels in the Leyden Museum from Tounghu in Upper Burmah, presented by the Marquis of Tweeddale. From the characters manifested by these squirrels, and the circumstances that they were all shot in one locality, they are of great interest. One is an adult, and in its upper parts it exactly resembles _S. Blanfordii_, also in its yellow feet and black tip to its tail, but, like _S. Phayrei_, it has a broad blackish-brown lateral stripe. The others are smaller, and resemble the foregoing specimens in all their characters, except that they have no dark lateral streak, and that the feet of two are concolorous with the upper parts, while in the remaining squirrel the feet appear to be changing to yellow, as in the adult. The two former of these, therefore, conform to the type of _S. pygerythrus_, but the fur of the upper parts is greyer and not so richly coloured as in it, but the annulation of the fur has the same character in both. The remaining specimen in its features is distinctly referable to _S. Blanfordii_" ('Anat. and Zool. Researches,' p. 232).

NO. 283. SCIURUS ATRODORSALIS. _The Black-backed Squirrel_.

HABITAT.--Burmah and the Malayan countries. Common in Martaban.

DESCRIPTION.--There are two phases of colouring, in which both old and young of this species are found: with the black on the back, and again without it. In the latter case the upper parts and feet are a yellowish-rufous. The upper surface of the head, as far back as to include the ears, orange red; under parts and inside of limbs more or less chestnut; under surface of neck orange yellow, with a centre line of the same on the chest; tail variable--in the young it has seven alternate orange and black bands, the orange being terminal; but the adults have sometimes only five bands, the apical one so broad as to make a rich orange tail with yellowish-white tipped hair. In those with black backs the colour of the upper fur is less fulvous, and the chestnut of the lower parts is darker; in some the tail has broad orange tipped hairs, whilst in others it is, with the exception of the base, wholly black, and not annulated. These differences in colouring are not sexual, nor due to age. The skull of _S. atrodorsalis_ resembles that of _S. caniceps_, but is broader, with a somewhat shorter muzzle, has smaller teeth, and would appear to be, from comparisons made by Dr. Anderson, smaller.

NO. 284. SCIURUS ERYTHRAEUS. _The Assam Red-bellied Squirrel_.

HABITAT.--Assam, Garo hills, Munipur.

DESCRIPTION.--The upper parts glistening deep reddish-black, minutely grizzled with light fulvous or yellowish-brown, each hair having two annulations; under parts and inside of limbs dark reddish maroon; feet black; tail concolorous with the back from the basal third, then gradually less grizzled; the terminal half black; whiskers black. Pallas describes the black of the tail as passing upwards in a mesial line.

SIZE.--Head and body, about 9 to 10 inches; tail with hair, from 11 to 12 inches.

NO. 285. SCIURUS GORDONI. _Gordon's Squirrel_.

HABITAT.--Upper Burmah.

DESCRIPTION.--Dr. Anderson, who first named this species, describes it as follows: "_S. Gordoni_ has the upper surface and a narrow line from between the fore-limbs along the middle of the body grizzled olive-brown or greyish, with a variable rufous tint; the annulations are not so fine as in _S. erythraeus_. The chin and sides of the throat are paler grizzled than on the back and the lower part of the throat; the chest, belly, and inside of the limbs are either pale yellow or rich orange-yellow, or passing into pale chestnut in the Assam variety, in which the belly is rarely lineated. The ears are feebly pencilled; the tail has the same proportion as in _S. erythraeus_ and _S. castaneoventris_[20] but it is more persistently and uniformly concolorous with the body than in these species, and is finely ringed with black and yellow, the rings being most distinct on the latter fourth; the tip is generally washed with orange yellow" ('Anat. and Zool. Res.').

[Footnote 20: A Chinese species: Western China, Formosa and Hainau.--R. A. S.]

SIZE.--Head and body, 9 inches; tail, 7 inches.

NO. 286. SCIURUS HIPPURUS. _The Chestnut-bellied Assam Squirrel_.

HABITAT.--Assam; also in the Malayan peninsula.

DESCRIPTION.--Upper parts of the body, with base of tail yellowish-rufous, punctulated with yellow and black; the lower parts deep ruddy ferruginous or chestnut; feet, tail (which is bushy) and whiskers black.

Dr. Anderson, however, mentions several varieties. He writes: "The specimen in the British Museum referred by Dr. Gray to _S. rufogaster_, var. _Borneoensis_ differs from Malayan specimens in having portions of the upper parts unannulated and of a deep rich chestnut, which embraces the upper surface of the base of the tail, and is concolorous with the chestnut of the under parts. This, however, is evidently not a persistent form, because I have seen a specimen from the same island in which the red portion of the upper parts is grizzled and much of the same tint as Malayan individuals, except in the mesial line of the neck and back, where the colour is rich red-brown extending along the dorsum of the tail for about three inches.

"Muller and Schlegel mention a variety that I have not seen, and of which they state that the red colour of the under parts extends to the heel, the forefoot and the toes, while the colour of the upper parts passes into a uniform lustrous black. They also remark, however, that the back not unfrequently assumes a pale yellowish brown tint" ('Anat. and Zool. Res.' p. 242).

Horsfield remarks:--"This species is nearly allied to the _S. erythraeus_ of Pallas, but it varies in the depth of the colours both above and underneath."

"In the skull the orbit is rather large, and the muzzle is so contracted at its base that the extremity is but little narrower."--_Anderson_.

NO. 287. SCIURUS SLADENI. _Sladen's Squirrel_.

HABITAT.--Upper Burmah.

DESCRIPTION.--After Dr. Anderson ('Proc. Zool. Soc.' 1871, p. 139) who first obtained and named this species: "grizzled, rufous olive above, the annulations fine, and the fur of moderate length; the forehead, face, chin, throat, belly, inside of limbs, front of thighs, lower half of fore-limbs, and the hind-feet rich chestnut red; tail rather bushy, as long as the body without the neck and head, concolorous with the upper surface of the body, but slightly more rufous; with a bright chestnut red tip."

SIZE.--Head and body, 10-1/4 inches; tail, including rufous tip, 8 inches.

This handsome squirrel is figured in the volume of plates belonging to Dr. Anderson's work on the Zoology of the Yunnan Expedition. Speaking of the skull he says: "The skull of _S. Sladeni_ has a rather short muzzle, with considerable breadth across its base superiorly, and it is a shorter and broader skull than the skulls of squirrels referred to _S. Blanfordii_. Compared with the skull of the red-headed specimen of _S. erythraeus_ from Bhutan, there is a decided resemblance between the two, the chief distinction being the less breadth of the base of the muzzle of the latter, but the teeth of this specimen show it to be young, while the teeth of _S. Sladeni_ are much worn by use."--'A. and Z. Res.' p. 243.

NO. 288. SCIURUS FERRUGINEUS. _The Rusty-coloured Squirrel_.

HABITAT.--From Assam to Burmah and Siam, and the adjacent islands of Pulo Condor and Sichang.

DESCRIPTION.--Colouring most diverse, no less than ten named species being referable to this one, viz., _S. Finlaysoni_, _S. ferrugineus_, _S. Keraudrenii_, _S. splendidus_, _S. cinnamomeus_, _S. Siamensis_, _S. splendens_, _S. Germani_, _S. Bocourtii_, _S. leucogaster_; some are rich red, one jet black, and another is white, but apparently most of the varieties come from Siam; the Assam and Burmah specimens being reddish, of which the following description is by Blyth, according to Horsfield's Catalogue, where it is entered as _S. Keraudrenii_: "Entirely of a deep rufo-ferruginous colour, rather darker above than below; the fur of the upper parts somewhat glistening; toes of all the feet blackish, as in the three preceding, and the extreme tip of the tail yellowish-white."

* * * * *

The following group consists of the striped squirrels, a smaller and more terrestrial species, allied to the ground squirrels (_Tamias_).

NO. 289. SCIURUS PALMARUM. _The Common Indian Ground Squirrel_ (_Jerdon's No. 155_).

NATIVE NAMES.--_Gilehri_, Hindi; _Beral_, _Lakki_, Bengali; _Kharri_, Mahrathi; _Alalu_, Canarese; _Vodata_, Telegu; _Urta_ of Waddurs (_Jerdon_).

HABITAT.--India generally, except in some parts of Malabar and North-eastern Bengal.

DESCRIPTION.--The upper parts are dusky greenish-grey, with five yellowish-white dorsal lines, the two outer ones being faint and indistinct; under parts whitish; the hairs of the tail are annulated with red and black; ears round. But the colouring varies; some are much darker than others; one I have is a deep ferruginous brown between the dorsal stripes.

SIZE.--Head and body, 6-1/2 to 7 inches; tail, 5-1/2 to 6 inches.

This beautiful little animal is well known to almost all who have lived in India, and it is one of the most engaging and cheerful of all the frequenters of our Mofussil bungalows, although I have heard the poor little creature abused by some in unmeasured terms, as a nuisance on account of its piercing voice. I confess to liking even its shrill chatter; but then I am not easily put out by noise, and am rather like the deaf old King of Oude, who sits and reads in his cockatoo house, and looks up smilingly, as half a dozen of them give vent to extra diabolical shrieks, and pleasantly remarks: "Ah: the birds are singing a little this morning!" I am not quite so bad as that; but as I now sit writing, I have a hill myna on one side of me imitating an ungreased cart-wheel and the agonies of an asthmatic _derzie_, and on the other side a small female of the rose-headed parrakeet, which has a most piercing selection of whistles and small talk, to say nothing of two small bipeds of five and seven, who cap all the rest for noise, till I sometimes wish I had the aural afflictions of the old king. I can, however, quite imagine the irritation the sharp chirrup-chirrup of this little squirrel would cause to an invalid, for there is something particularly ear-piercing about it; but their prettiness and familiarity make up in great measure for their noisiness. They are certainly a nuisance in a garden, and I rather doubt whether they are of any use, as McMaster says, "in destroying many insects, especially white ants, beetles, both in their perfect and larval state," &c. He adds: "They are said to destroy the eggs of small birds, but I have never observed this myself." I should also doubt this, were it not that the European squirrel is accused of the same thing. General McMaster, I think, got his idea from a quaint old book, which he quotes at times, Dr. John Fryer's 'Voyage to East India and Bombain,' who, writing on the nests of the weaver bird (_Ploceus baya_), says: "It ties it by so slender a Thread to the Bough of the Tree, that the Squirrel dare not venture his body, though his Mouth water at the eggs and Prey within." McMaster himself writes: "This familiar little pest is accused, but I believe unjustly, of robbing nests; were he guilty of this, it would in the breeding season cause much excitement among the small birds, in whose society he lives on terms of almost perfect friendship." There is much truth in this. Wood and others, however, state that the European squirrel has been detected in the act of carrying off a small bird out of a nest, and that it will devour eggs, insects, &c.

Jerdon relates the Indian legend that, when Hanuman was crossing the Ganges, it was bridged over by all the animals; one small gap remained, which was filled by this squirrel, and as Hanuman passed over he put his hand on the squirrel's back, on which the marks of his five fingers have since remained. It is not unlike the chipmunk of America (_Tamias striatus_), but these true ground squirrels have cheeks pouches and live in burrows. Our so-called palm squirrel (though it does not affect palms any more than other trees) builds a ragged sort of nest of any fibrous matter, without much attempt at concealment; and I have known it carry off bits of lace and strips of muslin and skeins of wool from a lady's work-box for its house-building purposes. The skins of this species nicely cured make very pretty slippers. They are very easily tamed, and often fall victims to their temerity, in venturing unknown into their owner's pockets, boxes, boots, &c. One I have now is very fond of a mess of parched rice and milk. It sleeps rolled up in a ball, not on its side, but with its head bent down between its legs.

NO. 290. SCIURUS TRISTRIATUS. _The Three-striped Ground-Squirrel_ (_Jerdon's No. 156_).

NATIVE NAMES.--As in the last. _Leyna_ in Singhalese.

HABITAT.--Ceylon and Southern India; on the Neilgherries. Has been found in Midnapur, and it is stated to range northward to the Himalayas.

DESCRIPTION.--Somewhat larger and darker than the last species, manifesting considerable variation in the colour of the dark lines of the back. In some the lines are rufous; in others dark brown or blackish throughout, or black only from the shoulder to the lumbar region. The general tints are rusty red on the head, greyish on the shoulders, blackish in the middle of the back, rusty on the haunches. Three well-defined yellow dorsal lines, not extending the whole length of the back; the tail rusty beneath, darker than _S. palmarum_ on the sides.

SIZE.--Head and body, 7-1/2 inches; tail, 7-1/2 inches.

This squirrel is more shy than the last, and keeps to the woods, although occasionally it will approach houses. Dr. Jerdon says a pair frequented his house at Tellicherry, but they were less familiar than _S. palmarum_, and endeavoured to shun observation. Kellaart gives a careful description of it, but does not say anything about its habits, at which I wonder, for it is common there, and takes the place of our little Indian friend, though probably its more retiring disposition has prevented so much notice being taken of it. Were it in the habit of frequenting houses in the manner of its Indian cousin, I am sure Sir Emerson Tennent would have devoted a page to it, whereas he does not mention it at all. It had also escaped McMaster's notice, careful observer though he was. Waterhouse, in his description ('Proc. Zool. Soc.' 1839, p. 118), describes some differences in the skull of this and _S. palmarum_, but Dr. Anderson finds no difference whatever.

NO. 291. SCIURUS LAYARDI. _Layard's Striped Ground-Squirrel_ (_Jerdon's No. 157_).

HABITAT.--Ceylon; in the highlands and the mountains of Travancore in Southern India.

DESCRIPTION.--Dark dingy olive, inclining more to ashy than fulvous, except on the head and flanks. Lower parts ferruginous, paler on the breast; middle of back very dark, with a narrow bright fulvous streak in the middle, reaching from between the shoulders to near the tail, and an obscure shorter stripe on either side, barely reaching to the croup; tail ferruginous along the centre, the hairs margined with black, with white tips; a narrower black band near the base of each hair; tip of tail black, forming a pencil tuft three inches long. In some specimens the centre dorsal streak is bright orange, the two intervening bands being jet black. In those in which the streaks are pale, the intervening bands differ only from the surrounding fur in being darker, but are grizzled like it. There is a narrow rufous area round the eye; the whiskers are black; the under-parts and inside of limbs are bright reddish-chestnut, and this colour extends along the under-part of the tail. Jerdon calls this squirrel _the Travancore striped squirrel_, but I see no reason to retain this name, as it is not peculiar to Travancore, but was first found in Ceylon by Mr. E. Layard, after whom Blyth named it.

NO. 292. SCIURUS SUBLINEATUS. _The Dusky-striped Ground-Squirrel_ (_Jerdon's No. 158_).

HABITAT.--The mountains of Ceylon and Southern India.

DESCRIPTION.--Smaller than the palm squirrel; fur soft, dense, grizzled olive brown; base of hairs dusky black; three pale and four dark lines on the back and croup, the lineation being obscure, and reaching only from the shoulder to the sacral region. Under-parts variable, but always dusky, never bright, from grey to dusky brown washed with rufous; tail concolorous with the upper part of the body and obscurely annulated.

SIZE.--Head and body, 5 to 6 inches; tail, 4-1/2 to 6 inches.

Kellaart calls this _the Newara Elia ground-squirrel_, and Jerdon _the Neilgherry striped squirrel_, but, as it is not peculiar to either one or the other place, I think it better to adopt another popular name. It is common about Newara Elia and Dimboola, but it does not seem to descend lower than 3000 feet. In Southern India it is found in the Neilgherries, Wynaad and Coorg, but only at considerable elevations.

NO. 293. SCIURUS MCCLELLANDI. _McClelland's Ground-Squirrel_ (_Jerdon's No. 159_).

NATIVE NAME.--_Kalli-gangdin_, Lepcha.

HABITAT.--"This species has a wide distribution, ranging from Nepal and Thibet to the east of China and Formosa, and through Assam and Cachar south-eastward to Tenasserim and Siam."--_Anderson_.

DESCRIPTION.--General hue olive brown, each hair having a blackish tip, a sub-apical yellow band, and a slaty black base. A pale yellowish band on the side of the nose, passing underneath the eye and ear along the side of the neck, and continued along the side of the back to the base of the tail; its upper margin has a dusky line; a narrow black line from between the shoulders over the vertebrae to the root of the tail; tail grizzled dark above, fulvous beneath; whiskers black; limbs concolorous with the body: ears small, black edged, fulvous white within, and with white pencil tufts.

SIZE.--Head and body, 5 inches; tail, 4 inches.