Grey Squirrel

Eastern grey squirrels commonly occur in two color phases, grey and black, which leads people to think—mistakenly—that there are two different species. Black is often the dominant colour in Ontario and Quebec, toward the northern limits of the species’ range. Farther south the black phase is less common and is not found at all in the southern United States. In the Upper Peninsula we find both back and grey colors. This may indicate that the gene responsible for black coloration has some cold-weather adaptation associated with it. Albino eastern grey squirrels also occur and in the United States a few small, completely white populations are found. There are rare instances of a reddish colour phase and some animals may also have a combination of colors, for example a black body with a red tail. These individuals should not be confused with the American red squirrel Tamiasciurus hudsonicus, which is also common to the Upper Peninsula. Both of these are smaller animals with a rusty red color on the body, head, and tail.
The squirrel’s fur is thicker and longer in winter. The fur color is grey or black and may change with the seasons. The grey fur is a grizzled salt-and-pepper combination produced by lead-grey underfur, overlain by banded grey and black guard hairs tipped with white. Black individuals are generally a glossy uniform black all over, but the species may show all shades of gradation between black and grey. A litter may contain both black and grey individuals.
The most notable physical feature of the eastern grey squirrel is its large bushy tail. Indeed, the Latin word for squirrel, sciurus, is derived from two Greek words, skia, meaning shadow, and oura, meaning tail. Combining the two means loosely that the squirrel is one that sits in the shadow of its own tail.
The tail has many important functions. It acts as a rudder when the animal jumps from high places, as a warm covering during the winter, as a signal to other eastern grey squirrels indicating an individual’s mood, and perhaps as a sunshade. Finally, the tail can be used to distract a pursuing predator.