Feb., 1912. Mammals of Illinois and Wisconsin — Cory. 147 



and northern portion of the state. There are numerous records fOr 

 the interior, and in northern IlHnois it has been taken in Cook and 

 Carroll counties, and Mr. B. T. Gault writes me he secured a fine albino 

 specimen near Glen Ellyn in the "fall of 1909. He considers the species 

 rather rare, however, in that locality. There are specimens in this 

 Museum from western Illinois taken in the vicinity of Warsaw, Han- 

 cock County, and the Northwestern University collection in Evanston 

 contains two specimens from Kane County. 



The southern limit of its range in Illinois is given by Bailey as St. 

 Clair County (''O'Fallon Depot," /. c, p. 49). He says, ''In but few 

 places are they as common as the smaller Striped Spermophile (5. 

 tridecemlineatus) , though the two species range together over a wide area. 

 Their habits are quite similar and it is often difficult to distinguish the 

 voice of one from that of the other. The note of Franklin's Sper- 

 mophile is somewhat heavier and has a slightly different ring, but is 

 the same shrill, rapid chipper or trill. It is sharp and ringing and may 

 be heard for a considerable distance" {I. c, p. 51). 



In describing the habits of this species in Illinois, Kennicott says, 

 "It is far less numerous here than the striped spermophile, and appears 

 to be a less abundant species wherever the two exist. It is observed 

 to inhabit the thickets of low bushes, and the edges of the timber, 

 more than the other, but does not occur in the woods. It is foi;d of 

 digging long burrows in the banks of ditches, and several times I have 

 seen it living in steep river banks, as well as under small wooden cul- 

 verts in roads. It is not so shy as the striped spermophile, and takes 

 up its residence quite near dwellings. It is also less disturbed by the 

 cultivation of land. In this region it is usually found living alone or 

 in pairs, and I have never observed a number of burrows scattered over 

 a small prairie knoll like the semi-villages of the striped spermophile. 

 This is perhaps owing to their small numbers ; for the species appears 

 to be naturally gregarious, and, at times, large companies live together, 

 burrowing within a few feet of each other, and several pairs even enter- 

 ing the same hole. 



"This spermophile exhibits a remarkable disposition to migrate 

 from one field to another. Not only do the males lead a wandering 

 life in summer, but pairs appear frequently to change their quarters, 

 leaving their winter burrow to breed in another, and then, perhaps, 

 hibernating in a third, at some distance from this. In several in- 

 stances, a company of a dozen or more have been observed to appear 

 in a locality where none were seen the previous summer, and then to 

 disappear after remaining there a year, or only a few weeks. In the 

 early part of summer, twenty or thirty of these animals suddenly 



