o be depended upon, for
colouring varies, but there is considerable difference in the skulls
of the two, _S. lokriah_ having a smaller skull, with distinct
peculiarities. The inter-orbital portion of the skull is narrower
anteriorly and posteriorly, and the muzzle is narrow at the base,
and of nearly equal breadth throughout. The nasals are long and
narrow, and reach further back than in _S. lokroides_. These points,
which are brought forward by Dr. Anderson, are sufficient to indicate
that they are quite distinct species. As regards colouring _S.
lokriah_ has normally red thighs, but even this is absent at times.
Dr. Anderson says: "It is much more richly coloured than _S.
lokroides_, with no rufous even on the thighs, and with generally
a tuft of pure white hair behind the ear, by which it can be recognised,
as it occurs in twenty instances out of twenty-five, and even when
absent the hairs in that locality have a paler colour. As this whitish
tuft lies backwards, it is only seen when the ear is carefully
examined."

NO. 278. SCIURUS LOKROIDES.
_The Hoary-bellied Grey Squirrel_ (_Jerdon's No. 154_).

HABITAT.--In the lower ranges of the South-eastern Himalayas, Nepal,
Sikim, Assam, Tipperah and Arakan.

DESCRIPTION.--This is a most difficult species to describe. Dr.
Anderson writes: "I have before me sixty-two examples of various
squirrels which have been referred to _S. lokroides_, _S.
Assamensis_ and _S. Blythii_ by Hodgson, M'Clelland and Tytler, also
the types of _S. similis_ (Gray), which were forwarded to the British
Museum as _S. lokroides_ by Hodgson. After a careful consideration
of these materials, they appear to me to be referable to one species.
Hodgson, who first described it, referred to it all those Himalayan
squirrels slightly larger than _S. lokriah_, and which had the
ventral surface either pale whitish or slightly washed with rufous,
the sides also being sometimes suffused with this tinge especially
on the anterior half of the thigh, which in many is bright orange
red; but this colour is variable, and many squirrels have this
portion of the body white, of which _S. Blythii_ is an example; and
others similar to it are before me from Bhutan and Assam which do
not differ from _S. lokroides_ except in the presence of this white
area, which is evidently only a variation on the red area, and
probably a seasonal change, as many show merely a faint rufous tinge
in the inguinal region, that colour bei