GROUND SQUIRREL 



and bushes, and in about fallen tree trunks in their search 

 for food, and can be seen at any time from sunrise to sunset. 



These Squirrels hibernate, in the colder parts of their range 

 going below ground before the first sharp days of autumn, and 

 during the late summer they become exceedingly fat. They 

 raise but one family of young a season, usually five or six in 

 number. They have a chirping call-note, coarser in quality 

 than that of the Chipmunks, and also utter a chattering, 

 hurried alarm call when thoroughly frightened. 



Genus Citellus 

 Dentition: Incisors, {; Canines, g; Premolars, f ; Molars, f = 22 



Ground Squirrel. — Citellus columbianus 



and related forms 



Names. — Ground Squirrel; Spermophile; Gopher; Digger. 



General Description. — A terrestrial, burrowing Squirrel 



of large size and short tail. Head rather rounded and nose 



Fig. 48. Ground Squirrel 



blunt; ears low and rounded; body robust; limbs short; tail a 

 little more than one-quarter of total length, flat and moder- 

 ately bushy; claws long, slightly curved, strong; first upper 

 premolar of small size; living on the ground and very seldom 

 climbing up into trees. 



Color. — Sexes colored alike; seasonal variation not 

 2onspicuous. 



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