Page:Natural History of the Ground Squirrels of California.djvu/39

Rh Valley a ground squirrel was seen gathering green fruits from the top of a four-foot manzanita bush.

C. H. Merriam reports (1910, p. 5) that the seeds of the manroot (Echinocystis fabacea) are eaten in the vicinity of Modesto from the middle of May to the middle of December. The seeds are eaten from



the time they begin to form until they are fully ripe. "Other favorite seeds are those of elderberry (Sambucus), jimson weed (Datura), wild nightshade (Solanum), turkey mullein (Eremocarpus), tarweed (Madia), and numerous grasses In southern California the squirrels are fond of the fruit of the prickly pear (Opuntia)."

Ground squirrels are provided with more or less extensive, membrane-lined cheek pouches opening inside the mouth, which are used in gathering and transporting food (see fig. 13). Often when the animals are scared out of weed patches or bushes, or away from some supply of roots