PIKA FAMILY 



73 



The Pika's favorite retreats are crevices in 

 the rocks, to which it swiftly runs when alarmed ; 

 but as it is fond of sunning itself, and its feed- 

 ing grounds are frequently at some distance from 

 home, eagles and hawks have many opportuni- 

 ties of making a feast from one of these careless 

 little animals. 



Merritt Cary, in "A Biological Survey of Col- 

 orado," says, " The habits of Conies are most 

 intereting. As far as my observation goes, they 

 live entirely in slide rock, usually on steep slopes, 

 but near Silverton, Loring found their character- 

 istic haystacks in the crevices of lumber and slab 

 piles near an abandoned sawmill, while Mr. D. 

 Costello, of Gardner, tells of one which took up 

 its abode beneath the floor of a cabin in the 

 mountains north of Crested Butte. The hav- 



stacks of these industrious little animals, com- 

 prising their winter food, are composed of many 

 species of grasses and weeds, cut and gathered in 

 summer, and allowed to dry among the rocks. 

 Thistles are found in most of the stacks, and 

 seem to be a favorite food. Well-worn run- 

 ways lead from one stack to another and extend 

 to neighboring rock slides. Conies are usually 

 quite shy and would be seldom observed were it 

 not for the odd, complaining notes which they 

 utter continually when alarmed. The grayish 

 color of the animal closely matches the dull-col- 

 ored rocks in which it is found, and the notes 

 often appear to come from a distant pile of 

 rocks, when in reality the motionles. animal is 

 within a few feet ; or again, the reverse may be 

 true." 



Photograph by Edward R. Warren 



PIKA, OR CONY 



A sure-footed little beast that is found in mountain regions, most abundantly about the timber line. 



It subsists on grass and other vegetation 



