Flying Squirrel

a squirrel-like animal provided with a loose fold of skin on each side of the body. When the animal leaps it spreads out its legs to their full extent, the fold which runs from fore leg to hind leg is stretched out into a sort of a flying machine. "It opens its vestments, leaps into the air, and sails down the steep incline from the top of one tree to the foot of the next as lightly as a bird." As it nears the end of its slide or flight it gives a graceful upward turn, partly to light head uppermost and partly to check its speed. Properly speaking, it cannot fly, but it can use its momentum to slide upward and can change its course. If it is desirous to continue its journey it runs up the trunk of a tree to a lofty outlying limb, and launches out into midair again. The flying squirrel is active in the twilight hours. It has soft, delicate, noiseless fur. It is a timid, gentle animal, feeding on much the same food as its larger red relative. A number of small species are found in Europe and in North America. A very similar group inhabits the forests of southern Asia.