🚀 go-pugleaf

No, you are not crazy.  The black squirrel that you saw was probably a color
variation of the species of squirrel known as the "grey" squirrel.  They are
common in certain locations, like nothern and western Wisconsin where I grew up.
There are other variations in the color of this species also, like cinnamon.
All the color variations of this species are about the same size and shape.
The smaller red squirrel is a different species.

						Jeff Kehoe
						Hewlett-Packard Co.
						Ft. Collins, CO 80525
						hpfcla!kehoe

> ... out of some bushes appeared a black squirrel.  Now,
> I've seen gray squirrels and red ones too, but never a black one.
> Am I just a deprived person or am I hullucinating?
>			       Dwight Bartholomew

There are areas, such as Toronto, in which black is the most common color
for the Eastern grey [sic] squirrel.
-- 
\\\\   Graeme Hirst    University of Toronto	Computer Science Department
////   utcsri!utai!gh  /  gh.toronto@csnet-relay  /  416-978-8747

In article <1936@pur-phy.UUCP> dub@pur-phy.UUCP (Dwight) writes:
>
>   I know that this question really doesn't belong strictly on
>net.rec.birds, but people who going birding see a lot more
>than just birds.
>   The other day I was stopped at a gas station in southern New
>Jersey when out of some bushes appeared a black squirrel.  Now,
>I've seen gray sqirrels and red ones too, but never a black one.
>Am I just a deprived person or am I hullucinating (not the latter
>cause I got the little fella on film.)
>
>			       Dwight Bartholomew
>UUCP:{decvax,ihnp4,seismo,inuxc,sequent,uiucdcs }!pur-ee!pur-phy!galileo!dub
>     {decwrl,hplabs,icase,psuvax1,siemens,ucbvax}|purdue!pur-phy!galileo!dub
>

Oh yes indeed you did see a black squirrel.  My parrents are fortunate enough
to have one quite tame in the back yard that comes to feed on the indian 
corn and peanuts we leave out the back door.  He sure
is beeeeutiful, especially against the snow, I could watch him for hours.

dave schuh
!uwvax!schuh!schuh

> 
> I've seen gray sqirrels and red ones too, but never a black one.
> Am I just a deprived person or am I hullucinating (not the latter
> cause I got the little fella on film.)
> 
> 			       Dwight Bartholomew
>   Help promote peace and make the world a safer place for parakeets.
> 						       (and people)

I've seen a bunch of jet-black squirrels in the Mountainview area
of California.  I had never seen them before three years ago, though.

Gary

The question is whether you have seen

 1. A squirrel which is a black morph individual of the species commonly
    known as grey squirrel (Sciurus carolinensis)

 2. A squirrel which is a melanistic individual of the species commonly
    known as fox squirrel (Sciurus niger) (there are a few such melanistic
    skins in museum collections but not many)

 3. A melanistic squirrel which is part of some species other than 1 or 2
    such as Red Squirrels (= Chicories for those out west) (Tamiasciurus
    hudsonicus) or any of the variations on the chipmunk theme.

Though #1 is most likely, could be #2 or even #3.  Nonchalanting either
squirrel or bird identification is the fast way to miss good TICKS!

And TICKS, MEGATICKS and CMF's is what every birder really cares about :-).
-- 
Name:   Richard Snell
Mail:   Dept. Zoology, Univ. Toronto
        Toronto, Ontario, Canada    M5S 1A1
UUCP:   {allegra,ihnp4,linus,decvax}!utzoo!snell