. Bulletin. Natural history; Natural history. September, 1945 Brown & Yeager: Squirrels in Illinois 505 climbing buckwheat, burdock and Ameri- can lotus seeds. In several instances it was found that acorns that had fallen in water were eaten 3 or 4 months later, after the winter drawdown, on areas af- fected by navigation dams on the Missis- sippi River, fig. 25. Many other seeds are undoubtedly eaten during the period of scarcity; and various writers have reported greater use of animal foods, particularly insects, during the late winter and spring than at any other time. Food Preferences
. Bulletin. Natural history; Natural history. September, 1945 Brown & Yeager: Squirrels in Illinois 505 climbing buckwheat, burdock and Ameri- can lotus seeds. In several instances it was found that acorns that had fallen in water were eaten 3 or 4 months later, after the winter drawdown, on areas af- fected by navigation dams on the Missis- sippi River, fig. 25. Many other seeds are undoubtedly eaten during the period of scarcity; and various writers have reported greater use of animal foods, particularly insects, during the late winter and spring than at any other time. Food Preferences The acorns of every species of oak oc- curring in Illinois appear to be used by squirrels, but because of their abundance and wide distribution those of pin oak {Quercus palustris), white oak {Q. alba) and black oak {Q. velutina) are the most important food sources. The acorns of bur oak {Q. macrocarpa), shingle oak {Q. imbricaria), chinquapin oak {Q. Muhlenbergii), swamp white oak {Q. bicolor) and others are taken where they occur. According to Allen (1943) red oak {Q. borealis maxima) acorns are bitter and, in Michigan at least, appear to be used less than the fruit of most oaks. Of the hickories, the shagbark (Carya ovata), both because of its statewide dis- tribution and tendency to fruit, is easily first in use among Illinois squirrels. Nuts of the small pignut (C. oralis), occurring most commonly in east-central and south- ern Illinois, were found to be eaten avidly by both fox and gray squirrels, fig. 26. The mockernut (C. alba), pignut (C. glabra), big shellbark (C laciniosa) and most other Illinois hickories are of only secondary importance, partly because they are less common than the shagbark and also, perhaps, because they are thicker shelled and therefore more difficult for squirrels to open than are the thin-shelled species. The bitternut {C. cordiformis), although thin-shelled, is both bitter in taste and small in size, but appears to be uti- lized. Pecan (C. pec
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