450 



THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE 



feet, and are commonly seen on low limbs and 

 in bushes. 



The entrances to the burrows are usually 

 under logs, roots, or rocks, or the den may be 

 in a hollow log, stump or base of a tree, or 

 even under a cabin in the woods. The burrows 

 in the ground are commonly a series of tunnels 

 some yards in length, with an oval nest and 

 storage chamber two or three feet under- 

 ground, and with branches from the main 

 passageway. The nest chamber, a foot or 

 more in diameter, is iilletl with fragments of 

 dry leaves and other soft vegetable material. 

 One chamber is usually used for sanitary pur- 

 poses. The used entrance hole is commonly 

 without a sign of dug earth about it, the loose 

 soil from the burrow and its chambers ap- 

 parently having been thrown out at another 

 opening, which appears to be used for this 

 purpose only and is kept plugged with earth. 



Throughout most of the northern half of its 

 range these chipmunks usually hibernate from 

 some time in October until March. Their 

 hibernation is far less profound than that of 

 the woodchuck and they not infrequently ap- 

 pear above ground during periods of mild 

 weather, even in midwinter. The hibernating 

 period is shorter in the southern part of the 

 range. 



They vary much in numbers from year to 

 year and at times appear to increase suddenly 

 in localities where food is plentiful, indicating 

 a probable food migration. The young, num- 

 bering from four to six in a litter, are born at 

 varying times between the last of April and 

 late summer, indicating the possibility of more 

 than one litter a season. 



The most characteristic note of this chip- 

 munk is a throaty chuck, chuck, which is or- 

 dinarily used as a call note, but which in spring 

 is uttered many times in rapid succession to 

 express the seasonal feeling of joy and well 

 being, thus taking on the character of a song. 

 Such joyful notes may be heard on every 

 hand in places where the little songsters are 

 numerous. In addition, they have a high-pitched, 

 chirping note and a small churring whistle 

 when much alarmed. 



THE OREGON CHIPMUNK (Eutamias 



townsendi and its relatives) 



{For illustration, see page 441) 



The resident species of birds and mammals 

 in the humid coastal region of Oregon, Wash- 

 ington, and southern British Columbia are 

 strikingly characterized by their darker and 

 browner colors in comparison with closely re- 

 lated species in more arid districts. 



The Oregon chipmunk is one of the common 

 species showing marked response to these local 

 climatic conditions and is the darkest of all 

 the many species of chipmunks in the Western 

 States. This chipmunk is one of several geo- 

 graphic races into which the species is divided 

 by changing environment. The species, as a 

 whole, ranges along the west coast from British 



Columbia to Lower California, and the race- at 

 the extremes of the line differ much in color. 



As befits a habitant of the humid forested 

 region, the Oregon chipmunk is robustly limit 

 and distinctly larger than the other chipmunks 

 of the Western States. It is common and Gen- 

 erally distributed throughout this region, occur- 

 ring from among the- drift logs along tin- ocean 

 beach to above tnnherline on the Cascade 

 Mountains. Within these limits n frequents 

 almost every variety of situation. It occurs in 

 the midst of gloomy forests of giant Spruces, 

 cedars, and firs, but is particularly fond of old 

 fences and brush patches on the borders of 

 farm clearings in the valleys as well as the 

 vicinity of rocky ledges, brush piles, and fallen 

 timber, where the low thickets offer a variety 

 of food-bearing plants and ready shelter. 



On the mountains it is most numerous about 

 rock slides and "burns" or other openings in the 

 forest. Several pairs usually haunt the vicinity 

 of old sawmills and of mountain cabins. Like 

 others of their kind, they are alert and viva- 

 cious, varying in mood from day to day, but 

 always interesting. At times they are exces- 

 sively shy and retiring, and a person might 

 spend a day in their haunts without seeing 

 or hearing one, although it is safe to say that 

 the intruder had been seen and every foot of 

 his progress noted by the chipmunks. On an- 

 other day, perhaps because the sun shines more 

 brightly and nature is in a happier mood, the 

 animals appear on all sides. Their slowly re- 

 peated sociable chuck, chuck, is heard from the 

 depths of the brushy covert as well as from the 

 tops of stumps, logs, rocks, or other lookout 

 points where they sit to view their surround- 

 ings. If alarmed they utter a sharp, birdlike 

 chirping note as they vanish in the nearest 

 shelter. As one moves about in their haunts 

 he may now and then see one appear for a 

 moment above the undergrowth in a tall bush, 

 on top of a stump, and sometimes even mount- 

 ing a few yards up a tree trunk to observe the 

 cause of the disturbance, only to vanish quickly. 



They are always skirmishing for food, and 

 carrying it in their cheek pouches to hidden 

 stores. On the approach of winter this activity 

 becomes very marked. A surprising variety of 

 fruits and seeds are eaten and stored, among 

 them the salmonberry, red elderberry, black- 

 capped raspberry, thimble berry, blackberry, 

 blueberry, gooseberry, thistle seed, dogwood 

 seed, hazelnuts, acorns, and others. They have 

 favorite feeding places, such as the top of a 

 stone or stump or the shelter of a log where 

 they carry nuts or other seeds. These places 

 are always marked by little piles of empty shells 

 or chaff from seeds. About ranches they raid 

 grain fields and other crops, sometimes in num- 

 bers sufficient to do considerable damage. 



In sheltered spots they make underground 

 burrows with nest chamber and store-rooms ex- 

 cavated along the passages. They usually re- 

 tire to these dens to hibernate during the last 

 of September or first of October, and appear 

 again about March or April, often long before 

 the snow disappears. During fall and early 



