_Description._--The woodchuck is the smallest member of the genus _Marmota_ that occurs in Washington. Adults are about 22 inches in length, of which the tail comprises 5 inches. The body is stout and plump. The legs are short. The ears are low and rounded. The eyes are large but not prominent. The fur is rather stiff but dense. The upper parts are cinnamon, frosted with white-tipped guard hairs. The underparts are tawny. There is no white bar across the nose. Woodchucks occur from Alaska to Idaho and eastward to the Atlantic, extending southward in the eastern United States. Miller (1924: 173-175) lists seven subspecies, one of which enters the extreme northeastern corner of Washington. The habits of the eastern woodchuck (_Marmota monax rufescens_) have been studied by Hamilton (1934: 85-178), but the northern races are less well known. Cowan (1939: 77-79) gives observations on the habits, nests and burrows of _Marmota monax canadensis_. =Marmota flaviventris avara= (Bangs) Yellow-bellied marmot _Arctomys flaviventer avarus_ Bangs, Proc. New England Zoöl. Club, 1:68, July 31, 1899. [_Marmota flaviventer_] _avarus_ Trouessart, Catal. Mamm., viv. foss., suppl., p. 344, 1904. _Marmota flaviventris avara_ Miller, U. S. Nat. Mus. Bull., 128:175, April 29, 1924. _Type._--Obtained at Okanogan, British Columbia, by A. C. Brooks on July 17, 1897; type in Museum of Comparative Zoölogy. _Measurements._--A male from 5 miles north of Entiat, Chelan County, measured: total length 610; length of tail 182; hind foot 70; ear 28. _Distribution._--From the eastern edge of the Cascade Mountains eastward, except, apparently, extreme northeastern Washington. Marginal records are: Okanogan (W. W. D.) in the north, Wenas (W. W. D.) in the west, Pasco (M. V. Z.) in the south, and 14 mi. S. W. Pullman (Howell, 1915: 42) in the east. _Description._--The yellow-bellied marmot is similar to the woodchuck but is slightly larger. It is decidedly paler in color, less reddish, but possesses white-tipped hairs on the dorsal surface, as does the woodchuck. The yellow-bellied marmot also differs from the woodchuck in having a distinct white bar on the nose. Its pelage is coarse and rather thin. The yellow-bellied marmot is typically an animal of the basalt talus of eastern Washington but occurs in mountainous areas in northeastern Washington. These animals are usually found near streams, ponds, lakes, or rivers. They wander considerably, however, and are often found far from water. Their wandering habits probably account for their presence near temporary streams and ponds on the Columbian Plateau. When these temporary sources of water dry up in July or early August, the marmots go into hibernation. Edson (1935: 68) records a marmot from Bellingham, Whatcom County, far west of the usual range of the species.