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Cynthia Crawford | profile | all galleries >> Red Squirrel-variant color tree view | thumbnails | slideshow

Red Squirrel-variant color

There has been a nursing adult red squirrel hanging around my bird feeder for about a month. Finally we are seeing the "kids". there seem to be four. One has a white tail and some lack of pigmentation. There have been other reports of these variants in Vermont, and I have a part-albino Evening Grosbeak posted on this site from last year. I am understanding that this is much more common than it used to be. It's called "Leucistic". It's got me wondering....why??
Baby red squirrel
Baby red squirrel		 Baby red squirrel-top view
Baby red squirrel-top view		 Red squirrel littermate- white tail and pale coloring
Red squirrel littermate- white tail and pale coloring		 baby red squirrel- white tail
baby red squirrel- white tail
Young red squirrel-top view too
Young red squirrel-top view too		 Red squirrel, white/pale variant
Red squirrel, white/pale variant

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Gail Webster 03-Apr-2016 17:19
I have a red squirrel with a very yellow tail.It is solitary and will chase the grays or vice versa....they do not mingle. the back and top of the head are a rusty color. I live on the Connecticut shoreline.
Trousse de toilette06-Aug-2015 07:13
WOOOOOOOOOW !!!!!
Guest 06-Jun-2015 13:33
Reds with white tails in avon lake, ohio. Crazy to see, new to me
Joyce 14-Sep-2014 19:31
I saw a squirrel in Warsaw, IN at the courthouse in late August. It was a black squirrel, not uncommon in that area, but the tail was multi-colored. It was brown at the base, then black, then white on the tip. I got a picture but it was from a distance and kind of blurry when I cropped it but if you're curious I can send it.
Guest 19-Aug-2014 21:46
Red squirrel in buckhorn, Ontario. Debbie
Guest 04-Aug-2014 18:43
We have two babies that came out of their nest and both have bushy white tails. Haven't seen this before, I hope it doesn't make them more of a "target"! - Waverley, Nova Scotia, Canada
Lonna 17-Jul-2014 16:25
We have red squirrels with bushy white tails in Oglesby, IL.
Lonna 17-Jul-2014 16:25
We have red squirrels with bushy white tails in Oglesby, IL.
Ken Brinkman 06-Jul-2014 21:28
We have a white squirrel who stays in a maple tree across the street but have seen it in our back yard near our squirrel feeder. I'm sure it is a fox squirrel variant with a white face,body and legs but it's ears and tail is reddish brown. I have found NO picture of one like it on any web site. It will associate, sometimes, with the fox sqrirrels in the neighborhood. I've a few pictures of it but have not got a good one yet. I hope it stays with us for awhile.
Lucy 22-Jun-2014 04:19
I have a red squirrel in Central Massachusetts that looks just like the photo of the littermate with white tail and pale coloring. I have never seen one like this before but that tail is very startling to see.
TJ 19-Jun-2014 01:02
I have two young squirells in Indianapolis, Indiana, they have white tails, all of it, not
just a stripe,and their bodies are brown, with no red. Are they called Red Squirells????
Pat 29-May-2014 02:16
I live in SE Iowa and saw a squirrel cross the street in front of my car. It had a red body and a pure white tail. I had never seen anything like it and we have squirrels everywhere, red and gray. I'm wishing I had a camera for this one.
bev 20-May-2014 23:19
I live in a small town in eastern ohio and just this spring there are three white tailed squirrels in my yard. There have been red squirrels nesting in my yard for several years, but this is the first for seeing the white tails. They are very active and a joy to watch. I am trying to get a picture, but so far they are eluding me.
Kim 25-Jan-2013 00:21
I stumbled onto this whilst looking for information on a squirrel I snapped a picture of today. I live in central Illinois pretty much all of life and squirrels are everywhere! So on that note, I am very familiar with them. So the squirrel I saw today has totally thrown me. He's big (small cat sized) his body is White, tail is big and fluffy Red, ears and eyes are Black. He is certainly not albino, but not a true white since his tail is red and ears are black? 99.9% of all squirrels here in Bloomington anyway are reds. I have his pic if anyone wants to see it.
Lois 21-Jan-2013 16:25
We have a red squirrel with quite of bit of black fur. We are in western Massachusetts. Have you seen any others like this?
Nancy 31-May-2012 16:20
I have watched a baby red squirrel with a white tail eating below my bird feeder for the past several weeks. At first I thought it was a baby grey squirrel as the body is mostly grey, lacking in the usual red tone. I have since fgured out that it is a red squirrel based on it's jerky movements and agressive nature. It's also quite vocal! Never saw one in Vermont until now! Quite enjoyable to watch!
wannnicol 25-May-2012 05:14

we have found a beautiful soft golden colored squirrel in our back yard, who now has babies in our shed. The mother has a white breast and this warm gold color without a hint of red in it . Do you have any ideas?
Cindy 31-Dec-2011 19:47
I know this is an old blogg but we have at least 6 if not more squirrels in our backyard of varied color from red to gray all with white or bright yellow tails. We live in a suburb of Indianapolis, Indiana. We have been calling them The Fukishima Squirrels, jokingly. We are very curious as to why the sudden appearance of white tails. Do we have a new breed moving in and running out or breeding with the redder Fox squirrels or is it something environmental causing a genetic disruption. When you Google "White tailed squirrels" They seem to have shown up around 2007. This is the first time we have seen them
Cindy
Kay Fordham 25-Jun-2007 13:39
On our property, we've had many dozens of "red" squirrels with variations in color. One has grey all over, and another is what I would call "pie-bald." Other less noticeable variation we have observed is more within the normal range -- more or less red, difference in tail color, etc. We don't know why but the distribution among the many red squirrels we see seems normal to us. Robert and Kay Fordham, Hinesburg
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