The desert woodrat is the smallest member of the genus that occurs in Oregon. The tail is round, short and bicolored and the ears are long and lightly furred. The pelage is long and soft, a mixture of buff and black dorsally and whitish or light buff ventrally; except for he chest, all body hairs have lead-colored bases. The feet and underside of the tail are white.

It occurs in Malheur, Harney, and southern Lake Counties. Throughout its range, it tends to be a habitat generalist, but in Oregon it usually occurs in sagebrush habitats, especially those associated with rimrocks or other rocky outcrops.

Desert woodrats are active nearly exclusively at night to avoid temperature extremes. They construct houses of sticks, dried cow dung, and a variety of miscellaneous items. Usually, houses serve to guard entrances to burrows appropriated from other small mammals or to fortify crevices in rocks.

Photo by Bryant Olsen, Flickr