CO RODENTS OF IOWA 



and not bushy. The chipmunk {Tamias striatics griseus) is some- 

 times confused with this species; but the chipmunk inhabits the 

 forests and climbs trees, while the striped spermophile is found 

 on the prairies and does not climb trees. The chipmunk has no 

 spots and is further characterized by a more bushy tail and longer 

 ears. Albino specimens of the striped spermophile are occasion- 

 ally met with. 



The word spermophile by which this and the following species 

 are properly known is derived from the Greek words meaning 

 "seed" and "to love," and refers to the propensity of these 

 animals for eating seeds, which, indeed, form a large part of 

 their diet. 



Habits, Distribution, Etc. — This is more particularly a prairie 

 form inhabiting the open fields practically throughout the state, 

 and scattered colonies may be seen in almost any locality not too 

 densely wooded. Often they are found along the edges of timber 

 or groves. The animals are gregarious and diurnal, and during 

 the summer months one often hears their whistle as they scamper 

 through the fields or away from the roadside. 



The striped spermophile obtains shelter and protection in bur- 

 rows which it digs in the ground. These burrows, which are 

 usually made in pastures, along fences and rights of way of 

 railroads, and in other uncultivated places, are about two inches 

 in diameter; they descend abruptly for a short distance and then 

 extend horizontally. Many of the tunnels are short and used 

 simply for safe hiding places when danger approaches. The tun- 

 nels leading to the nests where the animals spend the winter and 

 rear their young are often fifteen to twenty feet in length and 

 .from one to two feet beneath the surface. The entrance to the 

 burrow is sometimes on the bare ground, sometimes hidden by 

 a tuft of grass. 



In the fall the spermophiles become very fat and after a few 

 nights of frost and before the ground freezes they disappear 

 wdthin the burrows not to reappear until the ground thaws in the 

 spring. Competent observers state that these animals hibernate 

 in the true sense of the word for the bodily processes are so feeble 

 that a few degrees below freezing is sufficient to actually cause 

 death. With the thawing out of the ground in the spring the 

 animals issue forth, and the young are usually produced in late 

 May or early June. The number of young in a litter varies from 



