SINCE 1828
American pika
nounDefinition of American pika
: a gray to brown, diurnal pika (Ochotona princeps) that inhabits rocky, mountainous slopes of the western U.S. and southwestern Canada and resembles a guinea pig or large mouse
The American pika is a small furry mammal resembling a mouse that lives in the mountains throughout the West, including the Rockies, the Sierra Nevada, and the Cascades. It has been voted one of the three “cutest animals” in North America.— M. David Stirling, Washington Times, 15 Mar. 2009
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