An adult animal reaches a body length of 27–34.8 cm, a tail with a length of 10.2–15.8 cm, hind feet 4.1–5.5 cm, weight 141–312 g. The upper body is from reddish brown to taupe. colors. Winter fur becomes more grayish. The belly is orange. The tail is fluffy with a black tip from the hair. On the sides of the body are black stripes that disappear in the winter.
The species is distributed in the west of North America . It lives in coniferous forests up to an altitude of 3300 m above sea level .
Active during the day, lead a solitary lifestyle. Territorial, the area of the plot is 1-1.5 hectares. Omnivores. The main food is pine seeds, as well as leaves, nuts, mushrooms, berries, branches, buds, less often arthropods, eggs and chicks of birds. In winter, stocks accumulated during the warmer months are mainly used.
Puberty occurs at the age of 8-9 months. Mating takes place from January to mid-August, more often from March to May. Most females have one litter per year. Sometimes the second litter is in August or September. Pregnancy lasts 36-40 days, from 1 to 8 cubs in the litter, on average 4-6. The cubs weigh 13–18 g. Eyes open after 26–36 days, remaining until mid-July and early August in the mother’s nest. At the age of 6-9 weeks, they leave the nest.
