Gray squirrel

Scientific name: Sciurus carolinensis

How weight is recorded: Whole weight

Field notes

Appearance

Gray squirrels have salt-and-pepper gray dorsal fur with white underparts and a distinctive bushy tail. Adults are medium-sized tree squirrels with rounded ears and no ear tufts; sexual dimorphism is minimal.

Size and weight

Body length 20–25 cm; weight 400–600 g. Males and females overlap substantially in size.

Habitat

Gray squirrels inhabit deciduous and mixed forests, woodlands, and suburban areas with mature trees. They thrive in oak, hickory, and nut-bearing forest from sea level to approximately 2,000 m elevation.

Distribution

Native to eastern North America from southeastern Canada through the eastern United States and introduced across much of the continent. They concentrate in oak and hickory forests and increasingly in urban/suburban parks and gardens.

Diet

Gray squirrels feed primarily on acorns, hickory nuts, and walnuts, supplemented by seeds, fungi, berries, and bark; food preference shifts seasonally with mast availability.

Behaviour

Diurnal and crepuscular; most active at dawn and dusk. Solitary or loosely gregarious; highly mobile and vocal, with frequent tree-to-tree movement and sporadic ground foraging.

Hunting tips

Look for fresh scat (small, dark pellets), stripped nutshell fragments, and chewed bark near feeding sites. Approach quietly into wind during early morning or late afternoon along nut tree groves and forest edges. Use deliberate stalking through timber, pausing frequently to scan branches and listen for chittering or movement; remain still when squirrels alarm-call, as they often resume activity shortly.

Whole weight

This species is logged by whole weight — the animal weighed entire, as taken.

Where it is hunted

Listed as huntable in 2 countries in Huntify.

Names in other languages

These field notes are general species knowledge, not legal advice. Always check the current seasons, quotas and firearm rules where you hunt.