White-tailed antelope squirrels handle desert heat by curling their pale, white-edged tail over their back like a small parasol, a trick that helps reflect sunlight while they forage in open sagebrush country during the hottest part of the day. Records near Malheur National Wildlife Refuge and John Day Fossil Beds National Monument trace the sagebrush steppe and rimrock terrain this species needs.
Records split into two clusters, late spring and again in late summer, with a gap in between that may reflect reduced surface activity during the peak heat of midsummer. NatureServe ranks the species S4, apparently secure, in Oregon, and unlike ground squirrels that hibernate through winter, this species stays active year-round in its milder desert range.
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