Eurasian red squirrel

Sciurus vulgaris

A small arboreal squirrel of European and Siberian forests, varying from red to dark brown and growing ear tufts in winter.

Key facts

Eurasian red squirrel (Sciurus vulgaris) is an omnivore animal classified as Mammal · Rodentia · Sciuridae.
Primary habitats are forest · urban, with a range across Palearctic.
Activity is diurnal, sociality is solitary, and conservation status is LC (Least Concern).
A small arboreal squirrel of European and Siberian forests, varying from red to dark brown and growing ear tufts in winter.
Found in conifer, broadleaf, and mixed woods as well as parks, using connected canopy with abundant seeds and nuts.

Habitat range map

Native rangeOccasional / Transient

Map: Ecoregions 2017 © RESOLVE (CC BY 4.0) · Natural Earth (PD)

Found in conifer, broadleaf, and mixed woods as well as parks, using connected canopy with abundant seeds and nuts.

Color varies widely but is often reddish brown. A white belly, bushy tail, and winter ear tufts are distinctive.

Active by day, it leaps through branches and stores nuts or seeds for winter and lean periods.

Conifer seeds, acorns, nuts, buds, fruit, and fungi are eaten, with bird eggs taken rarely.

Round nests of twigs and moss are built in trees. In good food years, more than one litter may be raised.

Globally low-risk, but populations in places such as Britain have declined under pressure from introduced gray squirrels and disease.