SQUIRREL FAMILY 



1.S7 



stripe on either side of back; outside of legs salmon 

 color ; underparts glistening white ; tail above, iron 

 gray with indistinct white border, beneath, white bor- 

 dered with black. Young : Much as adults but colors 

 not so strong. 



Measurements. — Total length, 8.5 inches ; tail verte- 

 brae, J.8 inches; hind foot, 1.5 inches. 



Range. — California and Utah to Arizona and New 

 Mexico in arid regions. 



Food. — A variety of different plants and their seeds. 



Remarks. — The Antelope Ground Squirrel is repre- 

 sentative of a group of 9 species and subspecies found 

 north of the Rio Grande, all conforming rather closely 

 to the same general type. 



Related Species 

 Antelope Ground Squirrel. — Aininost^rniiophilus 

 Icuiunis Iciii-uriis (Merriam). Typical animal as 

 described above. California to New Mexico. 



Cinnamon-Colored Antelope Ground Squirrel. — 



Ammospcrmophllus Icucurus cinnamomcus (Merriam). 

 Ears, tail and hind feet larger than in the Antelope 

 Ground Squirrel, with color above pale cinnamon. 

 Desert region of Colorado, Utah and Arizona. 



Harris's Antelope Ground Squirrel. — .liiiiiiosfcr- 

 iiwphihis harrisii harrisii (Audubon and Bachinan). 

 White stripe on sides narrow ; color above, grizzled 

 grayish-brown, and, in general, stronger coloration than 

 the Antelope Ground Squirrel ; tail lacking black dorsal 

 stripe and not so white below. Southern Utah and 

 Nevada into California, Arizona and northwest New 

 Me-xico. 



Texas Antelope Ground Squirrel. — Ainmospcrmo- 

 philus intcrprcs (Merriam). As large as Icucurus, but 

 tail tinged with fulvous, and head grayer ; pelage much 

 finer and longer. Eastern desert tract of New Mexico 

 and Te.xas. 



Phot 



.\. E, Butler 



Mlisluiii lit :\,itural ]]i^t'iry 



SAY'S GROUND SQUIRREL 



The Ground Squirrel may be readily distinguished from the smaller Chipmunk, by the fewer number of 



stripes on the former 



The Antelope Ground Squirrel gets its name 

 from the fact that the tail, with its glistening 

 -white under surface, is turned up over the back 

 when the animal runs, and by this one feature it 

 may be known from all the other Ground Squir- 

 rels. In addition it can be easily distinguished 

 by a gray upper body contrasting with the pure 

 white of the under parts. It is smaller than 

 most of the Spermophiles, seldom exceeding five 

 or six inches in body length. 



Antelope Squirrels frequent sandy arroyos, and 

 are striking objects as they frisk about in the 

 morning sunshine with the pure white under 

 surface of the upraised tail showing prominently. 

 They are easily alarmed and retreat precipitately 

 to the burrows, which are usually in the sandy 

 bank of a dry desert wash or beneath sage or 

 Atriplex bushes. In a few moments the animal 

 may be watching the intruder from the mouth of 

 a burrow or from behind a pile of rocks, but it 



