Chipmunk is the common name for any small squirrel-like rodent species of the genus Tamias in the family Sciuridae. Around 25 species fall under this name, mainly in North America, although one species is native to Eurasia.Tamias is Latin for "storer," a reference to the animals' habit of collecting and storing food for winter use. Twenty-five species belong to the genus by this name, with one species in northeastern Asia, one in eastern North America, and the rest native to western North America.Eastern Chipmunks mate in early spring and again in early summer, producing litters of four or five young twice each year. Western Chipmunks only breed once a year. The young emerge from the burrow after about six weeks and strike out on their own within the next two weeks.Chipmunks play an important role as prey for various predatory mammals and birds, but are also opportunistic predators themselves, particularly with regard to bird eggs and nestlings. In Oregon, Mountain Bluebirds (Siala currucoides) have been observed energetically mobbing Chipmunks that they see near their nest trees.