When the generic name _Sciurus_ (meaning shade-tail) is mentioned, I am reminded of an Arizona gray squirrel I observed several years ago. During late fall my wife and I were camped near the headwaters of the Hassayampa River in a mixed forest of hardwoods and conifers. Our arrival had interrupted the work of a squirrel which was gathering walnuts in the immediate vicinity, but he soon became accustomed to our presence and renewed activities. Every sunny hour he was busy storing the nuts, many of them at the base of an old pine tree near camp. Shortly thereafter a fall storm set in and lasted for several days. It developed into a pattern of misty drizzle followed by periods of clearing weather when the sun might appear for a few minutes. During sunny intervals the squirrel would appear, but as soon as it became overcast again he would as quickly disappear. Finally we discovered his retreat. When it would threaten more rain he would run up the trunk of the pine to the first branch. Here he would turn his rump to the hole and hunch up into a small furry ball with his long bushy tail laid forward over his back and head and extending down in front of his nose, forming an admirable protection against the few drops that spattered down through the thick foliage overhead. Squirrels are not the only animals who use their bushy tails for protection against the elements. Many mammals curl up and wrap the tail around themselves for warmth, but only the squirrel tribe has a tail long, wide, and flat enough to be used as a roof. Though the origin of the term _Sciurus_ has been lost, it is not too far fetched to suppose that it was suggested by a squirrel’s use of its tail as a parasol. Spruce squirrel, Pine squirrel (DOUGLAS SQUIRREL, CHICKAREE) _Tamiasciurus hudsonicus fremonti_ (Greek: tamia, steward and Latin: sciurus, shade-tail ... of the Hudson, named after Fremont) [Illustration: spruce squirrel] Range: Utah, Colorado, Arizona and New Mexico in the Hudsonian and Canadian Life Zones. [Illustration: Habitat map] Habitat: Conifer forests, preferably spruce, in the higher mountains. Description: A small gray squirrel, usually the only squirrel to be found at the elevation at which it lives. Total length 13 to 14 inches. Tail 5 to 6 inches. Two distinct colors of pelage are seasonal. The winter coat is olive gray to rufous gray above with lighter underparts; the summer coat is brownish gray to yellowish gray with almost white belly and feet. A black stripe along the sides is prominent at all seasons. The tail is narrow and noticeably shorter than the body. It is gray beneath, rufous gray above, with black border and a black tip. Little is known of the breeding habits. The four young are born in early summer and by August are usually out foraging with the mother.