Merriam's ground squirrel

Merriam's ground squirrel, Urocitellus canus, is a species of rodent in the family Sciuridae that occurs in the western United States in Idaho, Nevada and Oregon. It is a small, grey ground squirrel with a relatively nondescript appearance: adults measure 18.8 to 21.8 centimetres in head-body length and weigh roughly 144 to 300 grams, with short fur that lacks stripes or spots, a short narrow tail and small ears. It can only be reliably told from Townsend's ground squirrel and the Piute ground squirrel by genetic testing. Two subspecies are recognized, and its native habitat is arid chaparral environments dominated by sagebrush. It is a diurnal omnivore, feeding on seeds, roots, bulbs and insects such as cicadas, and where it inhabits agricultural land it may eat domesticated grains or alfalfa and be considered a pest. It spends most of the year hibernating, and gives birth to a single litter of up to ten young each year.