354 NATURE-STUDY REVIEW 



of insect attention that is conspicuous during the season in which 

 the Park is open, at any rate, and this is but one feature that 

 goes to make the place a paradise for nature lovers. Those 

 wishing further information on the subject should write the 

 Buffalo Society of Natural Sciences, Public Library Building. 

 Buffalo. New York. 



Prairie Dogs 



Alice M. Phipps, 

 Buffalo, N.Y. 



The Cynomys were first called Prairie Dogs by the early French 

 explorers and trappers in the West although they are not dogs 

 but rather typical rodents. The name was doubtless given them 

 because of their cheerful, puppy-like actions. While their cry 

 could hardly be called barking, it is more like the short, quick, 

 yet weak-toned barking or yelping of very young puppies. They 

 are quick, and somewhat petulant, and seem full of sport, business 

 and public affairs. The prairie dog is bright and vivacious, 

 showing a hearty enjoyment of life, and is probably the most 

 cheerful object of the western plains. Washington Irving says, 

 however, that when hard pressed they assume a look of impotent 

 wrath and defiance. They were also called "Barking Squirrel" 

 by Lewis and Clark, who were the first to give a detailed descrip- 

 tion of the little animals. 



They are from fourteen to seventeen inches in length and 

 weigh from one and a half to over three pounds. They are brown 

 in color and have a very short, flat tail about two inches long. 

 They are robust little creatures with very strong limbs and claws. 

 Homaday says of one, "His legs are so short that when he is 

 running along he looks as though he were on casters, and his 

 short, black bordered tail seems at first to be a mere after- 

 thought." 



Although there are five species they are divided into two groups. 

 The most widely distributed and best known group has its tail 

 tipped with black, while the tails of the other group are tipped 

 with white. They can be distinguished from the ground squirrels 

 by their larger size, and shorter tail and from the gray gophers 

 of the Canadian plains by their slightly larger size, distinctly 

 brownish color and very short black-tipped tail. 



