100 Species to Know by Sight - #8 Fox Squirrel

Fox Squirrel (Sciurrus niger) eating fruit from an ornamental crab apple tree

Species #8 on my list of 100 Species to Know by Sight is an easy one.  There are eight species of squirrels that can be found in Mid-Michigan.  Only three of them are true "tree" squirrels.  The Fox Squirrel (Sciurus niger) is the largest of those three species.  While it can have many color phases, Fox Squirrels in Mid-Michigan are reddish-brown to orange in color.  They share this color with the Red Fox, resulting in the name Fox Squirrel. 

For more information on this species please visit this species profile that I wrote in February 2013.

A resting Fox Squirrel - photo by Shara LeValley