The Red Squirrel

The red squirrel is famed for its orange-red fur, but is actually quite variable in colour, ranging from vivid ginger to dark brown. In winter, the fur is often tinged with grey and large tufts develop above the ears. Red squirrels have a large bushy tail that is almost as long as their body. Not to be confused with: the grey squirrel. Colour is the obvious difference here, but there can be some overlap between the species, with greyish-red squirrels and reddish-grey squirrels sometimes occurring. Grey squirrels never have tufted ears and are significantly larger, weighing around 540g, compared to just 300g for red squirrels. The tail of red squirrel is always exclusively one colour, while a grey squirrel tail often contains several colours.