MILLER: MAMMALS OF ONTARIO. 
31 
Tamias quadrivittatus neglectus J. A. Allen. 
The two species of Tamias which occur in Ontario are recognized 
as distinct by the inhabitants, who call T. striatus the 4 big chip¬ 
munk ’ and T. quadrivittatus the 4 little chipmunk.’ The latter is 
rare and local at North Bay but excessively abundant on the north 
shore of Lake Superior. 
It was not found by Brooks or Gapper in the southern part of the 
Pi •ovince. 
Although it is universally distributed outside of thick woods at 
Nepigon and Peninsula, the little chipmunk shows a marked prefer¬ 
ence for open rocky hillsides, while the big chipmunk prefers the 
edge of the forests, where stumps and logs furnish it a more con¬ 
genial shelter. At North Bay the smaller species occurred on the 
rocky hill north of the town, and I was unable to find it elsewhere, 
while the larger animal was everywhere, among rocks, in partly 
cleared fields, in gardens, about outbuildings, and in fresh 4 brulies.’ 
Tamias quadrivittatus is quicker and more graceful in its move¬ 
ments than T. striatus , and its notes are easily distinguished from 
those of its larger relative by their greater shrillness. While T m 
striatus on the north shore of Lake Superior hibernates near the 
end of September, immediately after the first heavy frosts, T. quad¬ 
rivittatus remains active much later — probably until the snow cuts 
off its food supply. The small chipmunk was actively running about 
in the light snow during the second week of October, 1896, although 
the temperature during the day averaged about 15° F. On October 
‘23, I found an adult female in a nest built of feathers and soft 
vegetable fibers at the end of a tunnel under a clump of bearberry. 
The tunnel was about two feet long and terminated a foot or more 
beneath the surface in a chamber about the size of a cocoanut. 
This chamber was completely filled b} r the nest, which contained, in 
addition to its occupant, a small store of seeds of various weeds and 
wild fruits. The small chipmunks enter traps with perfect freedom. 
The smallest sized ‘cyclones’ and 4 Schuylers’ are strong enough to 
kill them. 
North Bay is the most easterly point at which any form of Ta- 
mias quadrivittatus has yet been found. 
The series of this chipmunk which I collected on the north shore 
of Lake Superior shows very little individual variation. They agree 
