Of all the smaller animals inhabiting the forests of Great Britain and the Continent, none is better known, more graceful in its actions, or more charming in its appearance than the squirrel, the typical representative of a vast family of rodents, second in number only to the members of the mouse tribe, and having an almost cosmopolitan distribution, although unknown in Australia. The European species, like the great majority of its immediate relatives, is completely arboreal in its habits, and frequents for choice dry and shady forests where there is abundance of tall trees. Its range includes practically the whole of Europe and a considerable portion of northern Asia; but, as might be expected, there is considerable local variation in the matter of colour in different parts of this extensive area, and the British squirrel differs markedly from the typical Swedish representative of the species. There are, moreover, especially in the British race, seasonal changes of colour, which render its appearance very different. During the winter months the British squirrel (_Sciurus vulgaris leucurus_) is a foxy coloured rodent, with long tufts of hair to the summits of the ears and the tail practically the same colour as the body. In the spring the long winter coat of the head and body is exchanged for a shorter summer dress and the ears lose their tufts; but the hairs of the tail are not changed, and consequently become dirty white, owing to the bleaching effect of light on their colour. This dirty white or cream-coloured tint of the tail in summer is absolutely characteristic of the British squirrel; and it may be added that even in winter this appendage is much less red than in many continental squirrels, being in fact reddish brown. In the typical squirrel (_S. v. typicus_), of southern Norway and Sweden, the body in summer has a brownish red coat very similar to that of the British race; but the tail is red, and does not bleach when the hairs are old and worn. In winter the body-coat is soft greyish brown in colour, with traces of the summer tint along the middle line of the back and on the limbs. We now come to the subject of our illustration, which shows the German race of the squirrel (_S. v. rutilans_) in its winter coat. In this variety the colour is bright red at all seasons, although there is a tinge of light smoky grey along the flanks in winter; the tail being at all seasons bright rufous, often rather darker than the body. There is, however, a brown phase of this race; and all continental squirrels exhibit a more or less marked tendency towards individual melanism. [Illustration]