According to Canada's Hinterland Who's Who, the Eastern Chipmunk Tamias striatus, is easily recognized by the light and dark stripes on the back and head, and is an attractive rodent with grey, black and white stripes on its back; brown, grey, and buff on its head; white underparts; and brown feet.
These charming little creatures can weigh around 125 grams and has a relatively short tail (about one-third of the total length from its nose to the tip of its tail) and is between 20 and 30 cm long.
Chipmunks are quite vocal and have a wide array of calls, some of which sound like bird chirps, including chirps and squeaks, a high-pitched chip or chuck which is repeated over and over! There is also the scolding noise which is made when they are watching an intruder.
The Eastern variety lives in forested areas in burrows in the ground which is where they gather their food of nuts and seeds.
These are great animals to watch - they are so charming that many campers and hikers see them in the woods and are enchanted by their small size, their boldness and their apparent busyness.
In general these animals are solitary and each animals has its own burrow and usually ignores its fellows except during mating season or when conflicts with other chippers arises.
As they spend most of their time in the part of their home range that includes their burrow, this is called their dominance area.
These little creatures live in their nests in well-hidden burrows and tunnels that they have built underground.
They build a nest using grasses, shredded leaves, or the fluffy seed heads of plants.
Seeds and nuts are stored beneath the nest, providing a handy food supply for the coldest part of the winter.
Chipmunks are known to be hibernators, even in the southern parts of their range and by October, each individual has gathered enough seeds to enable it to survive the winter.
In spring with the first warm days of March, they begin to emerge, sometimes burrowing up through a metre of snow.
The Eastern variety lives in forested areas in burrows in the ground which is where they gather their food of nuts and seeds.
These little creatures live in their nests in well-hidden burrows and tunnels that they have built underground. 
