The red squirrel is a master of disguise with over twenty distinct recognized subspecies.

Nature · Published 30 September 2026 Swipe more like this →

In short: Across the vast forests of Eurasia, the red squirrel displays a surprising kaleidoscope of appearances. While often imagined as bright russet, these rodents can be black, grey, or even bluish-grey depending on their region. Beyond their shifting coats, these agile climbers possess complex social signals and unique survival strategies.

The Eurasian red squirrel, Sciurus vulgaris, is a highly adaptable rodent found throughout the forests of Eurasia. Taxonomists currently recognize 23 distinct subspecies, though the classification remains fluid due to significant regional variation. These squirrels are physically specialized for an arboreal life, featuring light skeletons and disproportionately long, heavy hind legs that enable them to leap up to four meters between trees. Their iconic ear-tufts, which grow noticeably larger during the winter months, serve as a primary visual marker distinguishing them from the introduced eastern grey squirrel.

Coat color in red squirrels is remarkably polymorphic, mirroring the diversity of human hair color. While red is the most common shade in Great Britain, populations in continental Europe and Asia exhibit a spectrum ranging from bright chestnut and brown to black and bluish-grey. This coloration is not static; individuals shed their coats twice annually, transitioning from a thin summer layer to a thicker, darker winter version. Melanism is particularly prevalent in boreal and montane populations, while populations dominated by a single color type are generally restricted to islands.

Unlike many other rodents, red squirrels do not hibernate. Instead, they rely on scatter-hoarding behavior, creating food caches known as middens to survive the winter. They primarily consume tree seeds, such as those from Scots pine or Norway spruce, but their diet is opportunistic, occasionally including fungi, berries, or even bird eggs. Despite their cleverness, their spatial memory for these caches is less precise than that of their grey squirrel counterparts. In regions like Great Britain, Ireland, and Italy, the red squirrel faces significant pressure from the grey squirrel, which possesses a superior competitive feeding strategy, leading to recent population declines.

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