230 GNAWING ANIMALS 



by which it is easy to distinguish them from their nearest 

 relatives, the red-backed mice. 



The species most widely distributed, and best known, is 

 the Northwestern Vole,^ the largest member of this group, 

 — a grayish-brown creature, with feet and all under-parts 

 white, or nearly so. It inhabits Alberta, British Columbia, 

 Idaho, Wyoming, Washington, and south central Oregon. 

 Length of head and body, 4 inches, tail, 1% inches. 



In mental capacity the Wood Rat, Pack Rat, Trading 

 Rat, or Bushy-Tailed Rat^ is the most wonderful member 

 of the whole Rat-and-Mouse Family, at least in North Amer- 

 ica. The true stories of its pranks are almost beyond belief. 

 Seemingly its chief object in life is to play practical jokes 

 on mankind; and any rat which manifests a spirit of tolera- 

 tion toward man surely is entitled to special consideration. 



The typical Wood Rat is a large-sized, big-eyed, large- 

 eared, and rather handsome creature, without the mean, vi- 

 cious look of a common rat, v/ith fine yellowish-gray fur, 

 white feet, and white under-parts. In some species, the tail 

 is covered with long hair, and by this fact alone it is possible 

 to distinguish many members of the genus. The Wood Rats 

 are distributed very generally throughout the southern and 

 western parts of the United States, and are also found in 

 British Columbia and Mexico. Frequently their presence is 

 indicated by the huge, mound-like nests, from 2 to 3 feet high, 

 which they build of twigs, grass, leaves, and bark. 



These animals are nocturnal in their habits, and their 

 nest-building and other work is done at night. The most 

 ' Phenacomys orophilus. * Neotoma. 



