Crossword clues for ground squirrel
ground squirrel
Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
The Collaborative International Dictionary
Chipmunk \Chip"munk`\, n. [Indian name.] (Zo["o]l.) A squirrel-like animal of the genus Tamias, sometimes called the striped squirrel, chipping squirrel, ground squirrel, hackee. The common species of the United States is the Tamias striatus. [Written also chipmonk, chipmuck, and chipmuk.]
Wiktionary
n. 1 (&lit ground squirrel) 2 Any of a number of medium-sized squirrel-like borrowing rodents of the tribe (taxlink Marmotini tribe noshow=1) (i.e., excluding the smaller chipmunks and the larger marmots and prairie dogs). 3 Any of the squirrel-like borrowing rodents of the tribes (taxlink Marmotini tribe noshow=1) and (taxlink Xerini tribe noshow=1).
WordNet
n. small striped semiterrestrial eastern American squirrel with cheek pouches [syn: eastern chipmunk, hackee, striped squirrel, Tamias striatus]
any of various terrestrial burrowing rodents of Old and New Worlds; often destroy crops [syn: gopher, spermophile]
Wikipedia
The ground squirrels are members of the squirrel family of rodents ( Sciuridae) which generally live on or in the ground, rather than trees. 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. Together, they make up the "marmot tribe" of squirrels, Marmotini, and the large and mainly ground squirrel subfamily Xerinae, and containing six living genera. Well-known members of this largely Holarctic group are the marmots (Marmota), including the American groundhog, the chipmunks, the susliks (Spermophilus), and the prairie dogs (Cynomys). They are highly variable in size and habitus, but most are remarkably able to rise up on their hind legs and stand fully erect comfortably for prolonged periods. They also tend to be far more gregarious than other squirrels, and many live in colonies with complex social structures. Most Marmotini are rather short-tailed and large squirrels, and the alpine marmot (Marmota marmota) is the largest living member of the Sciuridae, at 53–73 cm in length and weighing 5–8 kg.
The chipmunks of the genus Tamias frequently spend time in trees. Also closer to typical squirrels in other aspects, they are occasionally considered a tribe of their own (Tamiini).
The ground squirrel is especially renowned for its tendency to rise up on its hind legs. It does this whenever it senses nearby danger, or when it must see over tall grasses. The squirrel then curls its paws flat against its chest and sends a screeching call to warn other family members about the presence of predators.
Usage examples of "ground squirrel".
And Jerry, comprehending the anger, though not its cause, stopped in his digging for a ground squirrel and looked up with a growl among the trees.
A fleeting moment of guilt stopped her as she remembered the ground squirrel.
She glanced around at the young fiend who crouched and poked a stick into a ground squirrel's hole.
A little farther, O'Neill identified a squadron of birds pursuing a ground squirrel.
Light enough, anyway, for me to see that the shrub behind which I had sat hunched all night was only a wizened, nearly leafless huixachi, which would not adequately have hidden a ground squirrel.
His partner returns with a babbled story about swirling leaves, melting trees, the hind parts of a ground squirrel sticking out of solid once-dirt, and of a man lost to the astonishing explosion of a nearby bush, wood turned to sharp-edged metallic shrapnel.
In places the grass was growing already, and ground squirrel ran and foraged busily.
I fear that they ask of me the strength of a fomorian giant, the speed of a frightened deer, the wariness of a ground squirrel, and the calm and wisdom of a centuries-old elf.