Page:Ornithological biography, or an account of the habits of the birds of the United States of America, vol 2.djvu/446

410 With the exception of the Flying Squirrel, we have no small qua- druped more interesting than this. It occurs in all parts of the United States, and being so beautifully marked in its colouring, is known to every body. It seems to rae, by the liveliness of its motions, to be among quadrupeds what the Wren is among birds ; for, like it, the Ground Squirrel, full of vivacity, plays as it were with the utmost grace and agi- lity among the rocky debris or the uprooted stumps of trees ; and its chatter, although less musical than that of the Little Winter Wren, ex- cites a peculiar pleasure as it comes on the ear. I think I see him as he runs before me with the speed of thought, his tail quite erect, his chops distended vith the produce of the woods, until he reaches the entrance of his retreat. Now he stands upright, clatters his little chops, and as I move onwards a single step, he disappears in a moment. Stone after stone I have removed from the fence, but in vain, for beneath the whole the cunning creature has formed its deep and circuitous burrow. With my hatchet I cut the tangled roots, and as I follow the animal into its innermost recesses, I hear its angry voice. I am indeed ^vithin a few inches of his last retreat, and now I see his large dark protruded eye ; but at this moment out he rushes with such speed that it would be vain to follow him. He has twenty burrows all ready prepared, and, delighted with his foresight and sagacity, I willingly leave him uimiolested in that to which he has now betaken himself.

The Ground Squirrel varies greatly in its external appearance in different parts of the United States. In the Southern Districts it is smaller than to the eastward, and the farther north you go the lighter are its tints^ the differences being at least as great as those between the Barn Owl of America and that of Europe. But the variations are confined to size and intensity of colouring, nor can I perceive any differences indicative of specific distinction. I am not inclined to consider variations of colour sufficient to constitute species, for instance, in the case of the Chimney Swallow of Europe and the Barn Swallow of America; nor is there any reason for believing that very considerable differences in size may not exist in the same species ; indeed the fact is very apparent among water birds especially.