Fig. 89. Douglas squirrel (Tamiasciurus douglasii douglasii): feeding station with remnants of Douglas fir cone, Longmire, Washington, elevation 2,700 feet, June 25, 1937. (Fish and Wildlife Service photo by Victor B. [Scheffer], No. 268.)
The homes of red squirrels are woodpecker holes or other holes in hollow trees. More rarely they build outside nests of twigs and branches, about two feet in diameter, or add onto old nests of crows or jays. Most nests and holes are some distance from the ground but some holes are between roots on the ground itself.
The food consists principally of the seeds of coniferous trees, especially Douglas fir and various species of pines. Cones are clipped when green or just before ripening and are either allowed to fall to the ground to be retrieved later or are at once carried to a favored feeding place to be consumed. Cones are held between the forepaws while the squirrel sits on its hind feet, tail curved up over its back, and rapidly clips the cone apart to get the seeds it contains. The cone is rotated between the paws and a steady stream of husks drops to the ground. Soon only the core is left and this too joins the husks on the ground. Favored feeding stations are used continually, perhaps by generation after generation of squirrels, and debris from thousands of cones accumulates in great piles.
Cones are stored. In the vicinity of a favored feeding place, at times virtually every hiding place is filled with green cones. Cones may be jammed into cracks or crevices in logs or stumps without effort at concealment or may be carefully covered with leaves or dry needles. Many are placed in craterlike pits dug in the ground. Most of these pits probably are later covered over but many are left open to the weather. Hollows in trees are probably also used for storage, as are holes dug into the piles of accumulated cone debris beneath feeding stations. Other food eaten by squirrels includes hazelnuts, berries, maple seeds, and mushrooms. A variety of fruits and seeds are doubtless eaten when opportunity offers.
Red squirrels do not hibernate. In the lowlands they are active all winter long but are noticeably shy and quiet. In the mountains they disappear after the snow falls but tracks may be seen in the snow about their dens and occasional individuals are seen. Specimens collected at this time are not fat, as would be the case if hibernation had been interrupted. Seemingly they stay close to their homes and feed on stored food.
The call of the red squirrel is harsher, more metallic, than that of the Douglas squirrel. The common call is a rolling "bur-r-r," starting loud but fading out entirely in a half minute. A lower-pitched "pauf" is uttered at intervals when the squirrel is going about its business. The danger cry is a loud "pee-ee," not unlike the call of a red-tailed hawk but less shrill. A low pitched "chauf-chauf-chauf," repeated at intervals of about two seconds, is occasionally given in the fall of the year.
Tamiasciurus hudsonicus streatori ([Allen])
Sciurus hudsonicus streatori [Allen], Bull. Amer. Mus. Nat. Hist., 10:267, July 22, 1898.
T[amiasciurus]. h[udsonicus]. streatori [Howell], Proc. Biol. Soc. Washington, 49:135, August 22, 1936.
Type.—Obtained at Ducks, British Columbia; type in American Museum of Natural History.