MAMMALS OF AMERICA 



disappears at the slightest noise or movement. 

 One which J. Alden Loring heard had a note 

 descrihed as " loud, shrill, and rattling, and 

 gradually dying out like a policeman's whistle." 

 Mr. Loring states that the Antelope .Squirrel 



has from four to six young in a litter. Ranch- 

 men say that Antelope Squirrels do much dam- 

 age in the spring hy digging up newly planted 

 corn. The}- appear to be particularly voracious 

 and active at this season. 



SAY'S GROUND SQUIRREL 

 Callospermophilus lateralis (Say) 



Other Names. — Big Chipmunk, Spermophile. 



General Description. — A small Ground Squirrel 

 about twice tlie size of the Eastern Chipmunk and 

 somewhat like it in appearance. Head rounded ; ears 

 of moderate size, broad and rounded, closely haired; 

 body inclined to be thick set; tail about half the length 

 of head and body, with long hairs arranged laterally 

 to give a broad, flat appearance ; legs in proportion to 

 body : color in general, grizzled grayish-brown above, 

 below brownish-gray. 



Dental Formula. — Same as foregoing. 



Pelage. — Adults: Sexes alike, seasonal variation 

 from typical summer pelage as described below to 

 grayer and more rusty in winter. Back, from shoulders 

 to tail, a mixture of black, grayish-white and rufous; 

 contrasting stripes formed by two black stripes inclosing 

 a white stripe, along each side of back; flanks and 

 sides of neck deep bright chestnut ; top of head chest- 

 nut; upper surfaces of feet pale yellowish rusty color; 

 a light ring about eye; below, light rufous with black 

 bases to the hair ; tail above, mixed black and chestnut 

 with chestnut border, below, chestnut with poorly 

 defined black border, the hairs tipped finely with chest- 

 nut again. Hair everywhere of short to moderate 

 length and rather coarse than soft. Young : Pattern 

 as in adults, but colors not so strong and contrasting. 



Measurements. — Sexes identical in size. Total 



length, II inches; tail vertebrae, 3.5 inches; hind foot, 

 1.65 inches. 



Range. — Mountainous parts of Colorado, New Mex- 

 ico and Arizona. 



Food. — A great variety of seeds and various types 

 of vegetation. 



Rel.\ted Species 



Say's Ground Squirrel. — CaUosf<cr)iio[<lulus lateralis 

 lateralis (Say). Typical animal as described above. 

 Rocky Mountains in Colorado, New Mexico and 

 Arizona. 



Washington Yellow-headed Ground Squirrel. — 

 Callosfcrmophilus lateralis saturatus (Rhoads). Size 

 large ; tail very long ; colors dark. Central Washington. 



Yellow-headed Ground Squirrel. — Callospcniw- 

 (•hilits cincriiscens (Merriam). General color grizzled 

 ash-gray. Montana. Idaho northward into Alberta. 



Golden-headed Ground Squirrel. — Callospermo- 

 philus clirysodeirus chrysodeirus (Merriam). Head and 

 neck bright ochraceous ; inner stripe as large as outer. 

 Oregon, northern California and western Nevada. 



Chestnut-tailed Ground Squirrel. — Callospermo- 

 philus eastanurus (Merriam). Inner black stripe as 

 large as outer ; mantle chestnut ; tail deep chestnut 

 below, yellow above. Found in the Wasatch Mountains. 

 Utah. 



Say's Ground Squirrel is typical of a well cir- 

 cumscribed group showing rclationshi]), on the 

 one hand, to the small Chipmunks and, on the 

 other, to the large Spermophiles or trtie Ground 

 Squirrels. Say's Ground Squirrel and its related 

 forms may be readily distinguished from the 

 smaller Chipmunks by the reduced number of 

 stripes, there being never more than two light 

 stripes as against three or more on the Chip- 

 munks. This group is of western distribution 

 and contains some ten species and subspecies 

 north of the Rio Grande. The range of varia- 

 tion is not very great in size, btit in coloration 

 runs from forms having a very strikingly con- 



trasted i)attern to others with the tones more 

 subdued. 



In addition to its proper name of Say's Sper- 

 mophile this animal is called Say's Ground Squir- 

 rel, and Big Chipmunk. The Great Golden 

 Spermophile is a closely related species found in 

 the mountains of ^^'yoming. In habits and gen- 

 eral appearance these two are so much alike that 

 we shall consider them together. 



In Yellowstone National Park, \\'yoming. and 

 in Estes Park, Colorado, Say's Spermophile 

 fairly swarms, in suitable surroundings. It loves 

 the open rocky situations, common in such places 

 where it may be found from about 6000 feet up 



