What Is the Difference Between a Red Squirrel and a Fox Squirrel?

Bushy-tailed tree rats, nut thieves, chatterboxes -- they are called many names, but squirrels are some of the most energetic and entertaining animals in the forest, and they live just about anywhere there are trees. The fox squirrel, the gray squirrel and the red squirrel are the most common tree squirrel species in North America; of these, the fox squirrel and the red are most commonly confused. There are, however, several ways to tell the adults of these species apart.

  1. Size

    • An adult fox squirrel, or Sciurus niger, weighs about 1 to 2 lbs. and measures 20 inches or so from its nose to the tip of its long tail. The adult red squirrel, or Tamiasciurus hudsonicus, weighs about 8 oz. and rarely measures much more than 10 inches from nose to tail tip.

    Coloration

    • Both fox and red squirrels can be reddish-gray on the upper body, depending on the season and the local color variation, but the fox squirrel usually has a reddish orange belly, while the red squirrel has a white belly all the time and a brighter red coat in winter. The red squirrel also has a white ring around each eye year round.

    Food Storage

    • Fox squirrels bury harvested nuts individually in the ground as they harvest them, but they never remember where they hid them all. This makes them champion reforesters, as the forgotten nuts grow into new trees. Red squirrels store food in a central location, such as a hollow log. Defending this stored food makes them aggressively territorial. They chitter, spit, growl, stomp their feet and make a huge fuss at anything that comes near their food bank and will carry on for hours, which earns them the nickname of "barking squirrel."

    Breeding

    • The fox squirrel has one breeding season, which happens in January, while the red squirrel has two: one from March to April and a second from July until September.