[Sciurus] niger Linnaeus, Syst. Nat., 1 (10th ed.):64, 1758.
Description.—Similar in size and appearance to the eastern gray squirrel but upper parts more reddish and underparts reddish orange rather than white.
Remarks.—Occasional fox squirrels are encountered near Seattle where they have been introduced from the southeastern United States. The source and date of the introduction are unknown.
Tamiasciurus hudsonicus (Erxleben)
Red squirrel
Description.—The head and body of the red squirrel measure about 7-3/4 inches, the tail about 5 inches. It may be recognized by its trim body, bushy tail and white underparts. The upper parts are reddish gray, reddest on the dorsal area. The red color of the center of the back extends to the tail. A black line separates the dark upper parts from the white underparts.
Red squirrels range over North America from the northern limit of tree growth south through the United States to Tennessee and North Carolina. A related species, douglasii, is found along the Pacific coast from British Columbia to California. The genus Tamiasciurus differs from Sciurus of Washington in lacking a penis bone or baculum. There are other fundamental differences in anatomy (see [Mossman], [Lowlah] and [Bradley], 1932: 89-155).
The habitat of the red squirrels is the coniferous forests from which they rarely stray. Zonally they range through the Transition and Canadian life-zones into the Hudsonian Life-zone. Red squirrels are arboreal and most of their habits are modified by arboreal existence. They are swift and agile climbers, able to travel from tree to tree on slender twigs or by leaping as much as ten feet to span the distance from one branch to another. They ascend and descend trees head first. They hang by their hind feet, high in the air, to clip the cones of conifers. If cornered in a tree they leap far out and, by extending the legs and tail stiffly, fall to the ground unharmed by leaps of fifty feet or more.
