Chipmunks from Washington vary in size from less than 8 inches in total length to more than 10 inches in total length. Some race of chipmunk occurs in almost every part of Washington. Their striped color pattern serves as a universal recognition mark. The somewhat similarly striped mantled ground squirrel is often mistakenly called chipmunk. The mantled ground squirrel is larger than any chipmunk, has but two dark stripes as compared with five dark stripes of chipmunks, and has a plain, reddish head unlike the distinctly striped head of _Tamias_. Like most members of the squirrel family, chipmunks are active by day and are therefore better known to man than are most of the other kinds of small mammals, most of which are nocturnal. The attractive color and sprightly actions of chipmunks make them a delightful feature of the outdoors. They feed on fruit, seeds, and fungus and eagerly eat food that can be begged or stolen from man. They have been known to kill mice and they have been accused of destroying nests and eggs of birds. They often eat insects and occasionally eat the flesh of mice or other chipmunks held in collector's traps. Chipmunks climb trees and bushes readily but only _townsendii_ can be called arboreal, and even it prefers to climb on stumps and dead trunks rather than in living trees. All species are fond of climbing about rocky outcrops and talus slides. The call of the chipmunks is a birdlike cheep. In _minimus_ it is shrill and uttered rapidly, but it is low-pitched and is uttered by _townsendii_ with longer intervals between the notes. The call of _amoenus_ is of an intermediate nature. Young of chipmunks vary in number from four to six. Nests are constructed of dry grass and are placed under rocks, logs, and in burrows in the ground. There are four pairs of mammae, one pectoral, two abdominal, and one inguinal. =Tamias minimus= Bachman Least chipmunk _Description._--The least chipmunk is the smallest chipmunk found in Washington. The head and body of adults measure about 3-1/2 inches; the tail about 3-1/2 inches. Its fur is short and sleek. The dorsal stripe is black; the upper pale stripe is buffy gray; the lower dark stripe is rich brown; the lower stripe is white. The sides are pale buff and the head, rump and thighs are buffy gray. The tail is brownish above, yellowish beneath. _Tamias minimus_ has a wide range, being found from the Cascade-Sierra Nevada Chain to the Great Lakes and from northern Canada to central Arizona and New Mexico. Two races occur in Washington, both in the sagebrush desert area.