The Chipmunk 



A. Leah Gause 



One of the most interesting rodents is Tamais striatus as Lin- 

 naeus called the common hackee or chipmunk. Another name 

 occasionally used for this active cousin of the red squirrel is 

 "chipping squirrel" which seems a suitable term on account of 



his habit of uttering, "chip, 

 chip, chip," while rollicking 

 with his fellows or when in 

 quest of. food. Dr. Horna- 

 day states that ' 'ground squir- 

 rel" should not be used when 

 referring to the chipmunk as 

 that name applies to an en- 

 tirely different species but 

 that "rock squirrel" would 

 be entirely correct because 

 of his preference for stone 

 fences and rocky areas. 



There are two main div- 

 isions of the chipmunk fa- 

 mily, our familiar Eastern 

 type and a very different 

 Western species. Early nat- 

 uralists who had only a few 

 specimens made many other divisions because of the influence 

 of climatic conditions. In general the differences are in coloring 

 as this increases in intensity toward the south or where there 

 is copious rainfall. In arid regions where there is little shade 

 the pigments in the hair are blanched by the sun's powerful 

 rays causing quite a different appearance. There is also a tenden- 

 cy toward greater length of limbs and tails in southern latitudes. 

 But no matter how classified, our eastern chipmunk is decidedly 

 interesting when studied. He is a true squirrel, a trifle smaller 

 than the red squirrel but of the same reddish tone. His dis- 

 tinguishing points are his two white stripes extending along the 

 side of the back from his fore shoulder to the root of the tail. 

 Each is bordered by a black line although the coloring and stripes 



239 



