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, , and , 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)
 * 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)
 * Image:Chipmunk 210.jpg - Species is not identified. If any should stay, it should be this one. --Aranae 00:36, 6 September 2007 (UTC)
 * 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 WikiProject Council/Proposals/Rodents --﻿ΖαππερΝαππερ BabelAlexandria 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, 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. &mdash;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. Orenburg1 (talk) 09:21, 26 August 2012 (UTC)

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)
 * 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.


 * 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 Dger (talk) 17:48, 26 August 2012 (UTC)

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 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)
 * I would agree, and appreciate your insight.....however, Webster's definition of Vegetable is:
 * 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. &mdash;innotata 16:47, 28 August 2012 (UTC)

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)
 * 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.
 * 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. &mdash;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? &mdash;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. &mdash;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 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, 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)
 * 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)
 * Red information icon with gradient background.svg 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 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)