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Chipmunks are an attractive and species-rich group, especially in mountainous regions in the western US and Canada; other species occur in eastern North America and in Eurasia. All are active, alert, and fast-moving. I'm especially fond of them because I did my PhD research on three species in eastern California, the lodgepole chipmunk, least chipmunk, and this species, the yellow-pine chipmunk. A fourth species, the alpine chipmunk, is found above timberline in the same region of the central Sierra Nevada. Yellow pine chipmunks, as their name implies, are widely distributed and common in yellow pine, ponderosa pine, and Jeffrey pine forests. These are fairly small chipmunks, although not as small as the alpine and least chipmunks. They can be recognized with some confidence by range and habitat, and by the yellow-orange undertail, buffy-tan sides separated from the first white stripe by a notably darker brown border, and somewhat indistinct head stripes. All of these pictures were taken along Convict Creek, on the east slope of the Sierras in Mono County, California. Chipmunk species pictured on this site include: |
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