File:The Canadian field-naturalist (1932) (20519583535).jpg

Title: The Canadian field-naturalist
Identifier: canadianfieldnat1932otta (find matches)
Year: 1932 (1930s)
Authors: Ottawa Field-Naturalists' Club
Subjects:
Publisher: Ottawa, Ottawa Field-Naturalists' Club
Contributing Library: Harvard University, Museum of Comparative Zoology, Ernst Mayr Library
Digitizing Sponsor: Harvard University, Museum of Comparative Zoology, Ernst Mayr Library

View Book Page: Book Viewer
About This Book: Catalog Entry
View All Images: All Images From Book
Click here to view book online to see this illustration in context in a browseable online version of this book.

Text Appearing Before Image:
78 The Canadian Field-Naturalist (Vol. XLVI contact simultaneously. The landing is much gentler than that of the Red Squirrel; I ha\e had both species alight on me from comparable dis- tances, and the difference of impact is very marked. The extensive patagium seems to be no im- pediment to any sciurine movement, either on the ground or in trees; fragments of food are held by the fore feet for eating precisely in the Red Squirrel's manner. It is worth calling attention to the indifference of the Flying Squirrel to strong light, an indiffer- ence hardly to be expected in an animal so marked- edly nocturnal. Individuals will, as has been noted by others, freely enter well-lit rooms through open doors or windows in search of food, neither the rather white light of a Coleman lantern nor the much yellower light of a coal-oil lamp seems to cause them the slightest inconvenience. It appears, it is true, as if they did not perceive food, such as a piece of biscuit, from a distance greater than about two feet, but I have no evi- dence that they do so at a greater ranger under more normal conditions. Even more striking is the absence of reaction to sudden illumination by the beam of an electric torch; only on a very few occasions have I seen feeding animals under such circumstances make any movement that could be interpreted as a reaction; for the most part they do not miss a single bite. I have, too, seen an animal alight accurately on a small twig in the full glare of the beam, the precision of its movements apparently not at all impaired by the abnormal environment. It is certainly curious that conditions that would give diurnal man, well-used to high intensities of illumination, considerable, if temporary, discomfort, should be without visible effect on a nocturnal animal possessing eyes enlarged for use in very feeble light. The cuts which accompany these notes are from photographs chosen out of a series taken during the course of the observations. A quar- ter-plate camera with a Zeiss Tessar 21 cm. lens was arranged on a tripod in the doorway near the landing tree and feeding stump, and focussed with the aid of a beam from the electric torch. The stop was generally f/8, the plate Ilford Soft- gradation Panchromatic. The illumination was by photoflash bulb in a small reflector supported on the end of a batten so that it could be pushed out towards the subject. The only difficulty was the occasional desire of an animal to climb about the camera.
Text Appearing After Image:
Figures 4 and 5. Groups of Sub-adults feeding together

Note About Images