AMERICAN RED SQUIRRELS

The American Red Squirrel (Tamiasciurus hudsonicus) is one of two species of tree squirrel currently classified in the genus Tamiasciurus and known as pine squirrels. (The other is the Douglas squirrel (T. douglasii) It is a medium sized (200–250 g) diurnal mammal that defends a year-round exclusive territory. The diet of these tree squirrels is specialized on the seeds of conifer cones. As such, they are widely distributed across North America wherever conifers are common, except on the Pacific coasts where they are replaced by Douglas squirrels. Recently American Red Squirrel have been expanding their range to include primarily hardwood areas.

Binomial Nomenclature and Identification:
American Red Squirrels are also referred to as Pine Squirrels, North American Red Squirrels and Chickarees. They should not be confused with Eurasian red squirrels (Sciurus vulgaris); since the ranges of these species do not overlap, they are both commonly referred to as "red squirrels" in the areas where they are native. The specific epithet hudsonicus refers to Hudson Bay, Canada, where the species was first catalogued by Erxleben in 1771. Red squirrels can be easily identified from other North American tree squirrels by their smaller size, territorial behavior and reddish fur with a white venter (under-belly). Red squirrels are also somewhat larger than chipmunks. The Douglas squirrel is morphologically similar to the American red squirrels but has a rust venter and is restricted to the southwestern coast of British Columbia and in the Pacific Northwest of the United States. These two species do not co-occur.

References:
[1] Text from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia: American Red Squirrel
[2] Photo from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia: American Red Squirrel