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Project Noah Nature School
Sciurus griseus
According to Elaine,
The Eastern Gray Squirrel differs from the Delmarva Fox Squirrel in several ways: Fox squirrel tails can reach 15" while the Gray Squirrel is about 15". Delmarva Fox Squirrels weigh between one/one and a half to three pounds; Gray Squirrel is about half that weight. The Delmarva is stubby-necked with shorter, thicker, more rounded ears which set slightly further back on the head. Gray Squirrel's ears are taller and more pointed; their necks are thinner. Delmarvas are slower, more deliberate in motion and less agile and spend a great deal of time on the ground.
The ears in the pictures seem to be pointed and the face is longer. The rusty brown fur on face, tail, feet and back along with the pointed ears are indicative of Gray Squirrel.
Great feed back Elaine. Will update accordingly!!Tricky one!
Thanks Viv, I will have to ask the Mt Diablo interpretive society. This is a very unusual coloring compared to the tons I have seen here.
Could be a Gray. I thought it is a little too big to be a gray.
http://www.projectnoah.org/spottings/193... This is another spotting from another area Jemma. If you look at the tail colouring and shape in image 2 they are very different to your spotting
Face shape and ears looks different to my spotting Jemma. Need to ask an expert
I am glad I could help, Jemma! The Eastern Gray Squirrel and the Fox Squirrel are both not native to California but have been introduced in urban areas in California. Sorry for the late responses, my notifications are not working at the moment, so feel free to email me if you don't get a reply from me at any time. :-)
Hi Jemma, this ID needs to be confirmed. I am absolutely not 100% sure about this one. I think the stomach on Sciurus niger is much too orange for this to be Sciurus niger (http://www.greglasley.net/nonBirds/foxsq...). As for Sciurus niger cinereus, I think this squirrel looks a little smaller, and there isn't a hint of orange present (http://www2.stetson.edu/~pmay/fox%20squi...). The Western Gray Squirrel, Sciurus griseus appears too dark of a gray. This leaves only one possibility, Sciurus carolinensis. I'm not completely sure, so you definitely might want to confirm, perhaps with an organization near you which has a focus on mammals of the area.
The Delmarva fox squirrel is extremely shy and is hard to detect in the field. A unique characteristic is, it is most often terrestrial and prefers to travel from tree to tree by climbing down and walking over to the next tree.
http://grad.uic.edu/gallery/main.php?g2_...
liam,is there any possibility that this could be a fox squirrel sub species?,
Sciurus niger cinereus?
http://ecos.fws.gov/speciesProfile/profi...
Liam ,any possibility at all it is a western gray squirrel? I have never seen so much white in a fox.
Spotted on Mar 25, 2013
Submitted on Mar 25, 2013
+1
