SQUIRREL FAMILY 



191 



it is most at home where it may dart into the 

 sunshine at any moment. The rocky, scnibby, 

 dry pastures of New England are ideal for it, 

 especially when scattered clumps of oak, chest- 

 nut and beech trees are nearby. 



The homes of most burrowing animals are ad- 

 vertised by conspicuous earth mounds at the tops 

 or edges of which the burrows open. The \\'ood- 

 chuck and the Prairie Dog are good examples 

 of this. The Chipmunk, however, is wiser. Not 

 only does it not make such mounds, but it takes 

 pains not to make paths leading to the mouth of 

 its burrow. Probably this is done by approach- 



and chambers to some distance away, is a dis- 

 puted point. Some naturalists believe the large 

 jjouches are used only for carrying food. The 

 use for conveying dirt is possible. To carry 

 such a large amount of dirt to considerable dis- 

 tances in the fore-paws would require a long 

 time. The burrows are about two inches in 

 diameter, several yards long, and from a foot or 

 less to three or four feet below the ground sur- 

 face. 



If one can think of a Chipmunk with a bad 

 case of mumps, one would have a good concep- 

 tion of that animal with its cheek pouches filled 



■^^p*" 



Photograph by G. W. Stark 



EASTERN CHIPMUNK 

 A bright-eyed, alert little rodent that has been called the fairy of the mammal world 



ing the burrow from as many different direc- 

 tions as possible, and by moving in long wave- 

 like leaps. The burrow openings, too, are often 

 placed in inconspicuous spots, such as under the 

 edge of a stone, or under a stump or tree root. 

 Considerable cimning is exercised in the making 

 of the Chipmtmk's home. The burrow may be 

 started in an open spot and rtm in various direc- 

 tions with chambers of dififerent sizes, up to a 

 foot in length, placed here and there. Eventu- 

 ally the timncl has at least two other entrances 

 besides the original one. This is finally closed 

 up, and only hidden openings are left. Just how 

 the Chipmunk carries the dirt from the tunnels 



with food. When full these pockets nearly 

 treble the size of the head. As many as four 

 hickory nuts have been found in them. Like a 

 small boy's pockets these pouches may be filled 

 with all kinds of edibles, especially vegetable 

 matter. Acorns, hickory nuts, beech nuts and all 

 kinds of seeds and grain form a large part of the 

 vegetable menu ; while insects in their various 

 stages, bird's eggs and 3'oung, and other freshly 

 killed animals of many kinds find a place in its 

 dietary at times. 



August, September and October are the har- 

 vest months for Chipmunks. Then they are 

 very busy gathering seeds and nuts and storing 



