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Eurasian red squirrel

Sciurus vulgaris

Description:

The red squirrel has a typical head-and-body length of 19 to 23 cm (7.5 to 9 in), a tail length of 15 to 20 cm (5.9 to 7.9 in) and a mass of 250 to 340 g (8.8 to 12 oz). It is not sexually dimorphic, as males and females are the same size. The red squirrel is somewhat smaller than the eastern grey squirrel which has a head-and-body length of 25 to 30 cm (9.5 to 12 in) and weighs between 400 and 800 g (14 oz to 1.8 lb). It is thought that the long tail helps the squirrel to balance and steer when jumping from tree to tree and running along branches and may keep the animal warm during sleep. The coat of the red squirrel varies in colour with time of year and location. There are several different coat colour morphs ranging from black to red. Red coats are most common in Great Britain; in other parts of Europe and Asia different coat colours co-exist within populations, much like hair colour in some human populations. The underside of the squirrel is always white-cream in colour. The red squirrel sheds its coat twice a year, switching from a thinner summer coat to a thicker, darker winter coat with noticeably larger ear-tufts (a prominent distinguishing feature of this species) between August and November. A lighter, redder overall coat colour, along with the larger ear-tufts (in adults) and much smaller size, distinguish the Eurasian red squirrel from the American eastern grey squirrel. The red squirrel, like most tree squirrels, has sharp, curved claws to enable it to climb and descend broad tree trunks, thin branches and even house walls. Its strong hind legs enable it to leap gaps between trees.The red squirrel also has the ability to swim.

Habitat:

In western and southern Europe they are found in broad-leaved woods where the mixture of tree and shrub species provides a better year round source of food.

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3 Comments

PatriciaPi
PatriciaPi 10 years ago

thank you alicelongmartin and namitha!

alicelongmartin
alicelongmartin 10 years ago

Like your last picture best. Nice squirrel!

namitha
namitha 10 years ago

Lovely series PatriciaPi. Very cute.

PatriciaPi
Spotted by
PatriciaPi

Calpe/Calp, Comunitat Valenciana, Spain

Spotted on Aug 1, 2013
Submitted on Aug 14, 2013

Spotted for Mission

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