Talk:Chipmunk

Name

On a name "chipmunk" was an Indian word, probably from the Algonquin languages; not onomatopoeic. Can anyone prove me right or wrong? Then again, if it was an Algonquin word, perhaps they took it from onomatopoeia.

That's right. "Chipmunk" comes from the Ojibwe word ajidamoo (pronounced approximately like "uh-jid-duh-mow"), which means "red squirrel." English speakers applied the name to chipmunks, and changed the name by analogy with the existing English words "chip" (probably also influenced by its vocalizations, but that's speculation on my part) and "mink". This is partly attested by the fact that it used to be spelled "chitmunk", anyway. See [1], [2], and [3], for example (the word may have been borrowed from the Southeastern dialect of Ojibwe, where the word is ajidamoonh, with a nasalized final vowel, as in French, which would explain the n in the English borrowing and in the sources I just gave, but that's more speculation on my part). I'm going to change the etymology given in the article. --Whimemsz 04:56, 8 January 2006 (UTC)

Close. The word for "red squirrel" in the Anishinaabe language is indeed ajidamoo, but the word "chipmunk" in English comes from the Odaawaa Language form for ajidamoo: jidmoonh. CJLippert 17:50, 12 October 2006 (UTC) Nerd

EDA program

there doesnt appear to be an entry for the EDA program "chipmunk" anyone care to add it to the disambiguation list?

Household pest

Chipmunks are listed on the list of common household pests. Information on how to get rid of them or otherwise dissuade them from scampering around inside the walls of a house should be added Pendragon39 16:04, 2 September 2007 (UTC)

Recent revert conflict

I have objections with this edit for the following reasons. --Aranae 00:36, 6 September 2007 (UTC)

1. I'm not convinced the Giant Chipmunk (Tamias minor) is legitimate. Anyone have a reference? --Aranae 00:36, 6 September 2007 (UTC)
2. Image:Chipmunk 222.jpg - Species is not identified. Are we looking to encourage hand feeding of wild animals? The animal is not particularly visible. There are better images at commons than this. --Aranae 00:36, 6 September 2007 (UTC)
3. Image:Chipmunk 210.jpg - Species is not identified. If any should stay, it should be this one. --Aranae 00:36, 6 September 2007 (UTC)
4. Image:Chipmunk 254.jpg - Species is not identified. Poor quality image. This adds nothing to the article. --Aranae 00:36, 6 September 2007 (UTC)

I note that the edit has been restored. Would you please explain why this information should be included? --Aranae 03:11

Activeness on College Campus

Recently I did a week long workshop at Frostburg State University in Western Maryland, I just would like to make note that I saw almost no squirrels there, but a high number of rabbits and even more so chipmunks, I was wondering if this possibly common on other campuses as well, as I read the Squirrel article and it mention the activity of squirrel's on Campuses I just figured it might be something that might want to be addressed on this page. Arkkeeper (talk) 16:16, 10 July 2008 (UTC)

Recent images & reverts

i'm going to have to go with Mgiganteus on this -- the new images add little to the entry. one shows an obstructed view of a chipmunk in a cage, ironic given the admonition in the text below. the other is okay and all but, again, is a little blurry, not bad, but not really contriuting to the article overall. note that each of the photos aside from the one in the taxobox refer to nearby text! reverting. - Μετανοιδ (talk, email)

Taxonomy

I intend to update the Wikipedia article to add the genera Neotamias and Eutamias recognized by molecular work by Piaggio and Spicer (2000, 2001) and reconfirmed by Banbury and Spicer (2007).Strawmd (talk) 17:05, 10 November 2008 (UTC)

Chipmunk on hand

I feel that the description of the chipmunk on the hand is a little deceptive. I do not believe the hand was included in the photograph soley for size comparison, and was instead only included due to selfish reasons expressed by the photographer (the photographer wanting to interact with the chipmunk due to humans strong desire to form inter-species relationships espically with the small mammals). 219.90.192.25 (talk) 03:05, 9 June 2009 (UTC)

WikiProject Rodents

This is a notice to inform interested editors of a new WikiProject being proposed at Wikipedia:WikiProject Council/Proposals/Rodents --ΖαππερΝαππερ ^Babel_Alexandria 02:05, 24 June 2009 (UTC)

Edit request from 124.149.37.121, 4 April 2010

{{editsemiprotected}} Please fix spelling in link text by changing

arder hoarding and scatter hoarding

to

larder hoarding and scatter hoarding

(ie arder -> larder) 124.149.37.121 (talk) 12:33, 4 April 2010 (UTC)

Done. Thanks for the suggestion. Ucucha 12:46, 4 April 2010 (UTC)

Split

We needn't slavishly follow the 5-year-old Mammal Species of the World, and scientists like Guy Musser has supported the split of Tamias [4], which is based on each of the chipmunk groups being at least as distinct as any of the other genera of the Marmotini. I also doubt that most taxonomies over the past century have followed the one-genus taxonomy from what older books I've seen, but I have no reason to believe the opposite either. —innotata 18:30, 30 November 2010 (UTC)

Chipmonk or chipmunk in earliest sources

I'm aware of the nuances of original research, and I don't get why you'd call my reference to this Google Books listing OR:

http://www.google.com/search?q=%22chipmunk%22&tbs=bks:1,cdr:1,cd_min:1800,cd_max:1834&lr=lang_en

I've just eliminated the words "catalogued in Google Books" and turned the link into a reference, which it certainly is. I hope that sets your mind at ease. I suppose one could make separate references for each of the individual books, but that would merely be cumbersome. I don't think an efficient reference to a group of sources is OR--any more than, say, a reference to a Google NGRAM graph would be, even though it accumulates data from innumerable sources. And contrary to what you claimed in your edit summary, almost all of the books listed are clearly scans of the original 1820s and 1830s books. I'm guessing the second one caught your eye, but it's an exception. Jbening (talk) 00:42, 20 May 2011 (UTC)

Diet

There should be a discussion of the recent edits to the diet section. To my mind 'vegetable' is a vague and generic term in this context and we are getting desparate if we have to rely on a petcare site to tell us what chipmunks eat. I suspect Pocketthis is focusing to closely on the chipmunks he sees in his vegetable patch which I would guess are eastern chipmunks. I have put a table below showing what WP, IUCN and Animal Diversity Web says for each species. The most detailed accounts for most of the species are the American Society of Mammalogists papers published by the Smithsonian - they are far too detailed to include here. IUCN is generally a good concise summary of these. ADW should not be ignored; although it is written by students it is generally careful to reference the primary sources.

Species	Wikipedia	IUCN	ADW
Allen's chipmunk ( Neotamias senex)	N/A	Diet includes seeds, fruits, fungi, insects, etc.	Tamias senex is primarily herbivorous, spending the majority of its time collecting and storing food. Diet consists mainly of the seeds of various herbs and grasses, but also contains fungi, fruits of shrubs and forest trees, and occasional insects. Some examples of food choices are acorns, chinquapins, spruces, hazelnuts, cherries, hemlocks, and berries. (Sutton and Patterson, 2000; Verts and Carraway, 1998)
Alpine chipmunk ( Neotamias alpinus)	The alpine chipmunk feed on the seeds of sedges, grasses, and pines.	Feeds primarily on seeds of various plants (mainly herbaceous plants); also fungi and probably animal matter on occasion.	The diet of T. alpinus primarily consists of the small seeds of sedges and other alpine plants such as forbs, grasses, berries, and even some fungi. Some examples include bitter cherry (Prunus emarginata), currant (Ribes), blueberries and huckleberries (Vaccinium) and pussy-paws (Spraguea umbellate). Pussy-paws seem one of the most preferred foods of T. alpinus. They also eat the seeds of pines. There is some evidence that they will eat the eggs of the Rosy finch and White-crowned sparrow.
Buller's chipmunk ( Neotamias bulleri)	N/A	This species has been observed foraging on small flowers in an oak tree (Quercus), and eating juniper (Juniperus) seeds and one was chewing on the new growth at the tip of a pine (Pinus) branch (Bartig et al. 1993).	N/A
California chipmunk ( Neotamias obscurus)	N/A	Pinyon pine nuts are the primary food during the late summer months, and chipmunks may be found during the daytime climbing the pines in search of nuts (Wilson and Ruff 1999). This species eats a variety of seeds, fruits, and flowers, but captive specimens refused to eat insects and meat (Best and Granai 1994).	Similar to other chipmunks, T. obscurus likely subsists on a variety of seeds and fruits of grasses, forbs, and shrubs. Some of these items may include pinyon nuts, acorns, along with manzanita and juniper berries. They forage mostly along the ground and in shrubs, and often they will set up "feeding stations" perched on top of logs or rocks. Their food is probably also their main water source. (Callahan, 1977) These chipmunks are also known to cache food in their dens or burrows. (Blankenship, 1999; Callahan, 1977)
Cliff chipmunk ( Neotamias dorsalis)	N/A	N/A	Tamias dorsalis forages for juniper berries, pine seeds, and acorns. These make up a large portion of the diet of this species. Tamias dorsalis is an opportunistic forager and will eat available plant material. Seeds are gathered during prime availability and are carried in cheek pouches and are transported to temporary caches. Seeds and vegetation are generally cached within 100 m of the home cliff, with many of these caches being retrieved later. Use of plants as food sources seems to influence both daily and seasonal movements. Females have been noted to spend more time foraging than males. Tamias dorsalis is mainly herbivorous although these chipmunks have been noted to eat a wide variety of insects, herps, birds, and eggs in Utah. (Hart, 1992)
Colorado chipmunk ( Neotamias quadrivittatus)	Their diet consists of seeds, berries, flowers and insects. (Colorado Division of Wildlife) They like to collect food in the fall and cache it for the winter.	Diet includes seeds and fruits of various woody and herbaceous plants, and some insects.	Colorado chipmunks are herbivorous. Their diet consists of seeds and berries, but they will also feed on insects, bird eggs, and carrion. Seed and berry types include ricegrass, juniper, cliffrose, skunkbush, mountain mahogany, and squawberry in July and August; Russian thistle, pinyon, oak, and Indian ricegrass in September and October. They are known to cache their food. With good climbing ability, T. quadrivittatus will search in between rocks, bushes and in trees for food. They depend upon free water sources. (Armstrond, 1972; "Tamias quadrivittatus", 2002)
Durango chipmunk ( Neotamias durangae)	N/A	This species has been observed feeding on pine nuts and on a large, green oak.	N/A
Eastern chipmunk ( Tamias striatus)	It prefers bulbs, seeds, fruits, nuts, green plants, mushrooms, insects, worms, and bird eggs.	This species utilizes a wide variety of seeds, fruits, and nuts, some mushrooms and insects.	Tamias striatus eats a wide variety of foods including nuts, acorns, seeds, mushrooms, fruits, berries, and corn. They also eat insects, bird eggs, and sometimes small vertebrates such as young mice.
Gray-collared chipmunk ( Neotamias cinereicollis)	N/A	Diet includes seeds, acorns, fruits, fungi, some green vegetation, and insects. Commonly forages in trees.	The diet of T. cinereicollis consists of various kinds of nuts, berries, and seeds. Mushrooms, cherry and plum pits, insects, worms and carrion are also consumed. Rare instances of T. cinereicollis preying on birds or small mammals have been observed.
Gray-footed chipmunk ( Neotamias canipes)	N/A	Diet includes acorns, seeds, mushrooms, small fruits, some herbaceous vegetation and insects. Known to feed on Douglas-fir seed. Climbs into oaks to collect acorns.	Diet varies and includes gooseberries and juniper berries, various acorns, seeds of the Douglas fir, currants, mushrooms, green vegetation, and insects. For the most part, acorns compose a significant portion of their diet, especially in the late summer and autumn. They hibernate, but usually do not gain extra weight. Instead, they subsist on cached supplies of acorns and other seeds. (Best, et al., 1992; Wilson and Ruff, 1999)
Hopi chipmunk ( Neotamias rufus)	Diet: Seeds of Indian ricegrass and penstemon are eagerly sought as are seeds of junipers, piñon, oak, skunkbrush, and other shrubs.	Diet includes mainly seeds (of trees, shrubs, and herbaceous plants), also flowers and insects, and, seasonally, small or large amounts of green vegetation; opportunistic, takes advantage of handouts and human food refuse in campgrounds (Armstrong 1982, Wadsworth 1972, Burt and Best 1994).	N/A
Least chipmunk ( Neotamias minimus)	These animals are active during the day and eat seeds, berries, nuts, fruits and insects.	Feeds mostly on seeds, nuts, fruits, and acorns.	Least chipmunks eat a wide variety of foods. Their diet including nuts, berries, fruits, grasses, fungi, snails, insects, and possibly some small birds and mammals. From April through October, much of a chipmunk's time is spent foraging. Least chipmunks forage both on the ground and in trees at heights up to 9 m (Kurta, 1995). Cheek pouches allow individuals to carry multiple food items back to their burrows, where they are either eaten or stored for future use. (Baker, 1983; Bergstom, 1999; Kurta, 1995)
Lodgepole chipmunk ( Neotamias speciosus)	N/A	Diet includes seeds of grasses, forbs, and woody plants; fruits; fungi; insects; carrion	Lodgepole chipmunks are omnivorous, eating a wide range of seeds, nuts, berries and insects. They also eat other arthropods, fungi, and small vertebrates. Tamias speciosus individuals consume leaves, flowers, pollen, fruit, and garbage, when such items are available. They are known to be great robbers of eggs from bird nests, and they cache food.
Long-eared chipmunk ( Neotamias quadrimaculatus)	They forage on the ground for fungi, seeds, fruits, flowers, and insects, though in the fall they will climb conifer trees to eat seeds from the cones	Primary foods are various seeds and fruits (especially those of conifers) and hypogeous fungi; also eats some arthropods. Gleans seeds from tree squirrel "leftovers."	Tamias quadrimaculatus is an omnivore that feeds mainly on fungi, seeds, berries and other fruits, conifer cones, and insects. Individuals feeding on fungi were shown to be fatter than those that did not have access to fungi.
Merriam's chipmunk ( Neotamias merriami)	N/A	N/A	Evidence has shown that Merriam's chipmunks consume more than seventy species of plants. Acorns are a major food source throughout the year. These animals will also consume insects, lizards, muscle tissue of sparrows, seeds found in the feces of goldfinches, and embyronic membrane from eff shells of California quail. (Best and Granai, 1994)
Palmer's chipmunk ( Neotamias palmeri)	N/A	Diet includes seeds, fruits, fleshy fungi, green vegetation, and insects; conifer seeds are a primary food source.	Palmer's chipmunks are omnivorous. Their diet includes seeds, fruits, various plants, fungus, and invertebrates such as worms, snails and insect larvae. Bird eggs and small mice are occasionally eaten. From spring through autumn, the diet consists mainly of seeds, fruits, greens and flowers. Invertebrates are not part of the diet during spring, but may be found in other seasons.
Panamint chipmunk ( Neotamias panamintinus)	N/A	Diet includes seeds and fruits, spring forbs, and arthropods.	Panamint chipmunks are primarily granivores, but will consume seeds, fruits, green vegetation, arthropods, lichens, and bark. Fruits consumed are primarily piñon and juniper fruits found in the course of foraging on the ground, in shrubs, and trees. These animals often cache food for future use. If water is available they drink it, but access to free water is not necessary for survival, as enough water is available from the diet. (Hirschfeld, 197)
Red-tailed chipmunk ( Neotamias ruficaudus)	N/A	Diet includes seeds and fruit of various trees and shrubs, also leaves and flowers of various forbs; probably also fungi.	Their diet includes the seeds of fir trees, honeysuckles, locusts, and cranberries. In Idaho, they have also been observed feeding upon the seeds of Douglas knotweed. In Montana, the chipmunk eats the fruits and seeds of nine-bark, wild rose, Ponderosa pine, snow brush, serviceberry, big whortleberry, buckbrush, knotweed, grass, huckleberry, mountain maple, and bull thistle. They also eat the leaves and flowers of the dandelion, arnica, currant, balsam-root, glacier lilly, oyster plant, willow herb, and tarweed. -T. ruficaudus- has been caught in the wild with steel traps baited with meat. (Best, 1993; Nowak, 1999)
Siberian chipmunk ( Eutamias sibiricus)	It feeds on shrubs, mushrooms, berries, birds, and other small animals	It feeds on various seeds, mainly on Siberian pine, but their diet also includes seeds of other coniferous and deciduous trees and herbs. In spring and summer it consumes herb shoots; and sometimes can eat insects and molluscs.	Siberian chipmunks are omnivores. In the wild their diet consists of seeds and grains, fungi, fruits, vegetables, grains, insects, small birds, and lizards.
Siskiyou chipmunk ( Neotamias siskiyou)	N/A	Diet includes seeds, fruit, fungi, insects, etc.	N/A
Sonoma chipmunk ( Neotamias sonomae)	N/A	Diet includes seeds, fruits, fungi, etc.	The sonoma chipunk has not been extensively studied and therefore little is known about its food habits. Nonetheless, considering its habitat, T. sonomae probably eats seeds and leaves of chaparral plants. Common plants within the sonoma chipmunk's range include whitethorn, chokecherry, serviceberry, and silk tassel. It is reasonable to assume that T. sonomae follows the food habits of other species within the genus Tamias. Other species within this genus are known to eat the fruits and seeds of various trees and herbs. The foliage and flowers of some herbs are also eaten, as are the tender buds of woody plants. Mushrooms, insects, bulbs, and birds' eggs are also consumed at times.
Townsend's chipmunk ( Neotamias townsendii)	It is omnivorous, eating a variety of plants and insects and even birds' eggs.[2] Townsend's chipmunks in the Oregon Coast Range have higher population densities in areas with dense shrubbery, especially salal (Gaultheria shallon).[3] In the summer and early fall, Townsend's chipmunks eat blackberries, salal berries, and thimble berries. In the late fall, they eat acorns, huckleberries, maple seeds, thistle seeds, grain seeds, grass, roots, and conifer seeds	This species has a diverse diet. Will eat seeds, nuts, fruits, insects, roots, green vegetation, fungi	N/A
Uinta chipmunk ( Neotamias umbrinus)	Uinta chipmunks are herbivorous. Their primary diet consists of the seeds of coniferous trees such as Douglas fir, ponderosa pine, juniper, and spruce, and on the fruit of local shrubs such as wild roses, raspberries, and chokecherries. They also eat some grass and fungi, and may supplement their diet with small quantities of insects or carrion	In summer it feeds on seeds and berries, supplemented with other plant material and insects. In autumn, stores seeds and berries in burrow. Occasionally eats birds eggs and carrion (Armstrong 1975).	Tamias umbrinus is omnivorous and spends the summer months searching for food in trees, snags, shrubs, and on the ground. In the autumn months, extra food is gathered and stored in underground caches to be used during the winter. Uinta chipmunks feed primarily on fruit, conifer mast, and seeds of maple, juniper, and chokecherry. In addition, fungi obtained by digging are a substantial part of the diet. Other items occasionally consumed include pollen, buds, insect larvae, and even bird eggs.
Yellow-cheeked chipmunk ( Neotamias ochrogenys)	N/A	Diet includes seeds, fruit, fungi, insects, etc., depending on availability.	N/A
Yellow-pine chipmunk ( Neotamias amoenus)	N/A	Diet consists of seeds, fruits, green foliage, flowers, roots, buds, bulbs, tubers, fungi, and small animals.	Yellow-pine chipmunks are mostly omnivorous. They consume at least 59 species of seeds, plants, fruits, fungi, corms, and insects. They are also known to eat small mammals, bird eggs, and roots. They use their cheek pouches to carry conifer seeds and other foods to their burrows.

Orenburg1 (talk) 09:21, 26 August 2012 (UTC)

• First, let me say that I commend you on this concise diet chart. It should be added to the article. I don't live on the east coast. I live in the Mohave Desert. I don't have a Vegetable Patch. I have been feeding Cottontails for 12 years twice a day. I started out throwing a few carrots to them one day; now I feed between 40 and 50 of them twice a day. The chipmunks that I used to observe eating wild Gourds, began showing up and eating Carrots right along side the rabbits. Now I feed about 10 Chipmunks along with the rabbits twice a day. Unlike the rabbits, the Chipmunks will devour any vegetable I offer them; including Cabbage, Lettuce, eggplant, and what ever left over vegetable is on hand. When I read the original article that didn't include vegetables after the words "They will eat", I added vegetables, and that's where this mess started.

There are countless sites that tell of those who do grow vegetables complaining about Chipmunks completely eliminating their gardens. To deny that Chipmunks don't eat vegetables is just plain neglect. The research I have done since I began feeding the Chipmunks, reveals that they will eat anything that grows from the ground indigenous to the particular area they live in. It's all part of them being Omnivorous in nature. I truly don't understand the objection to a simple fact of life: Chipmunks eat vegetables. I might even be satisfied with the Statement: "Chipmunks will also eat various Vegetation indigenous to their particular area, or found in someone's vegetable garden". How can anyone argue with that fact? Pocketthis (talk) 14:50, 26 August 2012 (UTC)

• That's quite a good list of wild foods of chipmunks. Here is a statement from eastern cottontail rabbits: "Eastern cottontails also consume many domestic crops" and another from [[white-tailed deer]: "They will also eat hay, grass, white clover, and other food that they can find in a farm yard." I see no harm in including that chipmunks eat garden vegetables but it would seem that it is better to exclude the statement from the list of wild foods. Dger (talk) 17:48, 26 August 2012 (UTC)

• I would agree, and appreciate your insight.....however, Webster's definition of Vegetable is:

Definition of VEGETABLE: "1a : of, relating to, constituting, or growing like plants b : consisting of plants : vegetational 2: made from, obtained from, or containing plants or plant products <vegetable soup> <vegetable fat> 3: resembling or suggesting a plant (as in inertness or passivity)" Since in the wild there is much vegetation in all regions that is digestible, it must pertain to indigenous plants available to them. I'm sure a reasonable compromise here somehow including vegetation in the wild is possible to include in their diet. To eliminate vegetation from "What they eat" is neglect; and I really don't understand the opposition to it. If we left the original diet description, and then added: "Chipmunks will also eat any vegetation indigenous to the particular area they live in." I would disappear from the Chipmunk article forever. :) Pocketthis (talk) 18:52, 26 August 2012 (UTC)

The problem is, you're just baldly saying 'vegetables' or such as something comparable to 'nuts' etc, not separating fruits, roots, and leaves, and the different sorts of these. For the current bit, "any plant matter they can obtain" might be a better phrasing, but anything like this needs a citation. I think it should just say something like "leaves, roots, and other plant matter" along with the listed animals chipmunks eat and give examples of particular wild plants and perhaps crops or garden plants they eat.

Saying what the main items in chipmunks' diets are we should try to mostly use sources that discuss all the chipmunks, like Mammals of Minnesota, currently cited (though it focusses on the two species found in the state)—and I haven't found anything that doesn't say chipmunks mostly eat seeds and fruits, which has been removed several times (probably unintentionally sometimes) just now. —innotata 16:47, 28 August 2012 (UTC)

• I have rectified the text with a quote from John Rogers, professor in Regional Planning at The University of Pennsylvania. Changed "Indigenous vegetation to "Native Plants" in their particular area. I hope this cleans up the mess and we can all be happy. Pocketthis (talk) 17:51, 28 August 2012 (UTC)
• I added an additional reference to "Vegetables"; in case anyone had a problem with the words "Vegetable Gardens" in the article.

This resolves any questions pertaining to Chipmunks eating vegetables. The Massachusetts Audubon Society founded in 1896 Quote: "Chipmunks feed primarily on nuts and seeds, but they will also eat fruits and vegetables". I did not change any text in the article to support this reference. I just added it to the references as insurance that the article doesn't get re-edited again in the diet section pertaining to what they eat and we can put this to rest. Pocketthis (talk) 19:11, 28 August 2012 (UTC)

You're still using sources to cite things they plain don't say, and introducing probably unintentional errors, here calling garden vegetables 'native plants' - they are not. Anything saying they eat plants in some form does not really match something saying they eat 'vegetables' or 'vegetation' (which is similarly vague). They definitely eat plants, it makes no sense to say essentially, they eat seeds and nuts and ... and also plants. I'll change this as mentioned above then. —innotata 22:23, 28 August 2012 (UTC)

• The statement from Professor Rogers about Chipmunks eating native plants was only put the article by me to eliminate the word you didn't like: Indigenous. As far as "Do Chipmunks eat Vegetables?" (which is what I was trying to introduce to the article from the beginning), it has now been referenced by the Audubon Society's Quote: "Chipmunks feed primarily on nuts and seeds, but they will also eat fruits and vegetables". You sir have "probably" misquoted above when you say fruits and "plants" In summary, I am happy with the article as it stands now. It mentions vegetables, and is certainly reliably sourced. I hope our edit confrontation is over; and the period I place on the end of this sentence, is the last text character this subject will be forced to endure. Pocketthis (talk) 23:31, 28 August 2012 (UTC)
• Unfortunately, it was not to be. I just returned from the article, and innotata has messed with the references and facts to his liking again. I came here hoping to resolve a simple issue. This man will not be happy until this article is right back to his original version. I am done here because he twists the facts to fit his fancy, and typing here is a waste of time for me. My time will be better spent keeping my eye on the article daily. Thanks to those with honest intentions who posted here. Goodbye. Pocketthis (talk) 02:51, 29 August 2012 (UTC)
  • Please keep this to the issues. I am glad the article has been improved recently, and see how it can be further. I just want the article clear, sourced, and its content in context. What problems exactly did you have? The article did say chipmunks eat plants from vegetable gardens, but these are not items of a wild diet, and grass and shoots are more typical items of diet as can be seen above (and vegetables is a vague word, especially in such a place as an example of a 'form of plant matter'); the Massachusetts Audubon article is unclear and is not needed—other sources say that chipmunks eat garden plants. (I'm generally not clear on your problems with sources I add.) You also removed mention of fungi, why? —innotata 03:02, 29 August 2012 (UTC)
• Audubon Society is not needed because it doesn't fit "your" needs. So you'll just source any article to fit what ever your preconceived notion about a subject is. I accidentally removed fungi, which by the way would be better said as "Mushrooms". I'm happy with the article as it stands right now (believe it or not), however, where it says "sometimes they are pests", would be better saying: "sometimes they are considered as pests". Other than that, which I will leave to your discretion because every time I make "any" edit, the entire article goes through metamorphosis by you instantly. Nice job with the photos and formatting...... I'll say that. Good luck on your Chipmunk quest. Pocketthis (talk) 15:29, 29 August 2012 (UTC)
  • Well, OK, and I'll change it as suggested. —innotata 15:32, 29 August 2012 (UTC)

bluebird reference

Hi, I was looking up references today and found some/added. I tried to reference the statement that "bluebirds have been observed energetically mobbing chipmunks" but ran out of steam. This exact phrase is used in at least a dozen internet sites, but I was unable to find a suitable reference for the item which was tagged for citation. Would it be better for the article to say that birds attack chipmunks, that would be easier to reference? --Cityside (let's talk! - contribs) 22:03, 19 September 2015 (UTC)

I read this article to evaluate for my class project today. I followed the link to the citation from the ecology and life history section "...as in the case of eastern chipmunks and mountain bluebirds (Siala currucoides)". The citation says the chipmunk destroys eggs and nestlings under the predator section. In the competition section it talks about deer mice and chipmunks taking over nest boxes so it is a bit unclear about direct predator-prey here. There are other sources used through out the article that give examples of bird eggs and nestling predated on. This might need an edit to be more reliable. Earth sunshine goddess (talk) 21:58, 6 March 2018 (UTC)

Can a chipmunk also be called a chipmouse?

I have looked everywhere, and when I search for chipmouse as an animal, I am sent to chipmunk pages. So are chipmunks also chipmice? LA (T) @ 08:10, 17 September 2016 (UTC)

Distinguish

There is a chance of confusion. I myself have personally confused them before, as they look similar. Comfycozybeds (talk) 16:11, 24 September 2017 (UTC)

Technically they are squirrels, though, so use of {{confuse|Squirrel}} is not appropriate here (though if I'd been the one reverting your changes, I would have given you a reason 😉). To elaborate, note that at the bottom of the page you can see that Chipmunk is in Category:Squirrels. If you click on Tribe: Marmotini in the taxobox, you can see that the canonical name for that article is "Ground squirrel", and it includes the text "The term is most often used for the medium-sized ground squirrels, as the larger ones are more commonly known as marmots (genus Marmota) or prairie dogs, while the smaller and less bushy-tailed ground squirrels tend to be known as chipmunks." Finally, in the last paragraph of Chipmunk § Taxonomy and systematics, you can see that some alternate names include the word "squirrel". --Dan Harkless (talk) 02:24, 25 September 2017 (UTC)

"small"

There is no indication of the range of sizes in this article other than "small" — Preceding unsigned comment added by 87.115.57.79 (talk) 08:09, 24 October 2018 (UTC)

The Gilaheri from the Indian subcontinent

Folks, i have no idea how y'all can offer the population ranges that you do for the chipmunk, and for the "siberian chipmunk". These montsters are all ver northern India, they're absolutely endemic in urban areas. They have typical chipmunk stripes (even accounted for in 3000 year old mythological texts). They're no import, they're local. Yet the chipmunk page says nothing... and the squirrel page says that all chipmunks are squirrels, anyhow.

Somebody needs to make the information accurate and global. North American information biases are boring. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 112.79.143.52 (talk) 03:49, 13 July 2020 (UTC)

Its most likely that you are seeing Indian palm squirrels or Northern palm squirrels. They are not chipmunks. Regards.Orenburg1 (talk) 15:58, 13 July 2020 (UTC)

Temporal range: Early Miocene to Recent

The following comment does not make sense to me. The phrase can be found on the right hand side above the chipmunk image.

Temporal range: Early Miocene to Recent

According to the Miocene link, Miocine is s geological epoch of the Neogene Period not a Temporal Range.

Is there an explanation for this?

Temporal relates to time. Temporal Range can be deciphered as Time Range. Makes sense

— Preceding unsigned comment added by 2606:A000:1500:8C02:3005:9F94:B2CD:4343 (talk) 23:46, 3 October 2020 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request on 12 April 2021

This article should be linked to the articles about chipmunks in other languages e.g. Streifenhörnchen in German or Pręgowiec in Polish. StefaniaPikus (talk) 19:50, 12 April 2021 (UTC)

This needs to be done via Wikidata. I'll go beyond the call of duty and see what I can do, but inter-wiki links are usually not handled locally so prefer fixing it via Wikidata directly if possible. RandomCanadian (talk / contribs) 02:07, 13 April 2021 (UTC)

@StefaniaPikus: See this; and this (which appears to be the Wikidata item actually linked on the German page, the equivalent here being Tamias). RandomCanadian (talk / contribs) 02:20, 13 April 2021 (UTC)

Videos of chipmunks

Half the videos are of red squirrels not chipmunks. Can someone correct? 2601:40D:301:5F80:1D63:B532:DBA1:8A78 (talk) 13:33, 24 August 2022 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request on 25 October 2022

Add more specific statement about acorn preferences after stating they like to eat acorns under Chipmunk diet to the diet portion

Eastern chipmunks prefer to eat white oak acorns over red oak acorns, in the absence of beech nuts. White oak acorns are smaller in size and their ability to handle these may influence their preference in acorns. Jaybae30 Pyare, S., Kent, J. A., Noxon, D. L., & Murphy, M. T. (1993). Acorn Preference and Habitat Use in Eastern Chipmunks. The American Midland Naturalist, 130(1), 173–183. https://doi.org/10.2307/2426285 (talk) 22:52, 25 October 2022 (UTC)

 Not done: please provide reliable sources that support the change you want to be made. ScottishFinnishRadish (talk) 00:53, 26 October 2022 (UTC)

"Microbear" listed at Redirects for discussion

An editor has identified a potential problem with the redirect Microbear and has thus listed it for discussion. This discussion will occur at Wikipedia:Redirects for discussion/Log/2023 February 5 § Microbear until a consensus is reached, and readers of this page are welcome to contribute to the discussion. TNstingray (talk) 20:11, 5 February 2023 (UTC)

Taxonomy: Tribe Tamiini

These 3 genus (Tamias, Eutamias and Neotamias) are now part of a different tribe: Tamiini, not Marmotini anymore.

See https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/1279829-Tamiini

Correct me if I am missing something, or if I am wrong. Sintropepe (talk) 17:45, 6 July 2023 (UTC)

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1055790303003786?casa_token=HxKrmgg94csAAAAA:3uhN6Cgc-S38priw-NgAPHaNm9RIHFRqO4qtwUb2SLmwg8E7hr7LI1E1VyUwKbZBh_Ny_3cH9PM Sintropepe (talk) 17:59, 6 July 2023 (UTC)