The tail is blackish-brown above and white below. Ranges throughout parts of the southeastern and midwestern U.S., with some population stretching along the Appalachians into Pennsylvania and New York. Eastern wood rats are found in rocky, timbered regions, and occasionally inswampy or open lands. They usually build nests in crevices or caves in limestone bluffs or outcroppings, but occasionally nest in piles of brush. They are often called pack rats because they pick up shiny objects and carry them to their nest, and will often trade one item for another.
Wood rats are nocturnal and feed on a wide variety of plants.
An important prey species, but not a pest species.