Chippy looks more like a squirrel to my Midwestern eyes. The tail is very unusual - usually their tails match the body more. I've not seen one with a bi-color tail like that. When I was little, we only had grey squirrels. My great-uncle would bird watch, and he had a black squirrel which was quite unusual. I have a gang of two - one fat and one skinny that torment the Berners. Monty, especially. It makes for some great shows out of the window! Of late, I have been seeing some that are more of a rust color.
Chipmunks have stripes, sorry. However, I googled 'squirrel varieties' and got some sites with great photos. Try homepage.mac.com./rstacy/squirrels01.html for LOTS of identified photos; and discover-southern-ontario.com/squirrel.html for a photo of one squiree (NOT from Ontario) that looks a lot like yours.
Hmmm...how big is little Chippy? He really seems to look like a squirrel, doesn't have any body stripes to indicate he's a chipmunk and yet has that magnificent tail. If he seems to be a bit bigger than the average squirrel he might be an Eastern Fox Squirrel. What do your local Fish & Wildlife rangers say?
Chippy looks more like a squirrel to my Midwestern eyes. The tail is very unusual - usually their tails match the body more. I've not seen one with a bi-color tail like that. When I was little, we only had grey squirrels. My great-uncle would bird watch, and he had a black squirrel which was quite unusual. I have a gang of two - one fat and one skinny that torment the Berners. Monty, especially. It makes for some great shows out of the window! Of late, I have been seeing some that are more of a rust color.
ReplyDeleteWhatever he is, Chippy is a handsome dude!
Squirrel.
ReplyDeleteBut s/he is small and cute like a chipmunk! Darn it -- now s/he needs a new name -- I can't call a squirrel "Chippy"!
ReplyDeleteChipmunks have stripes, sorry. However, I googled 'squirrel varieties' and got some sites with great photos. Try homepage.mac.com./rstacy/squirrels01.html for LOTS of identified photos; and discover-southern-ontario.com/squirrel.html for a photo of one squiree (NOT from Ontario) that looks a lot like yours.
ReplyDeleteGreat photos!
Susan
Hmmm...how big is little Chippy? He really seems to look like a squirrel, doesn't have any body stripes to indicate he's a chipmunk and yet has that magnificent tail. If he seems to be a bit bigger than the average squirrel he might be an Eastern Fox Squirrel.
ReplyDeleteWhat do your local Fish & Wildlife rangers say?
Looks like a variation of Michigan's Red Squirrel. They are vicious chewers - destroyed several of my wooden bird houses.
ReplyDeleteLook at the white around his/her eyes. Along with Shelley, I'm for the North American red squirrel. Great picture at tinyurl.com/yj7nxn9
ReplyDeleteSusan