Mammals of the WorldIrrawaddy Squirrel
Callosciurus pygerythrus
- Order
- Rodentia
- Family
- Sciuridae
- Genus
- Callosciurus
- IUCN status
- LC
- Distribution
- Nepal|India|Bhutan|Bangladesh|Myanmar|China
- Realm
- Palearctic|Indomalaya
Other names: Hoary-bellied Squirrel
About this species
- Size
- Head and body about 20cm; tail about 20cm
- Diet
- Nuts, seeds, fruit, bark, lichen and other vegetation; occasionally insects and small vertebrates
- Range
- Bangladesh, China, India, Myanmar and Nepal
The Irrawaddy squirrel, known in the Himalaya as the hoary-bellied squirrel, varies in fur colour. Some animals are greyish-brown and reddish-brown, and some are grizzled; some have dark tips on the tail and pale hip patches. Head and body length is about 20cm and the tail is about the same (Wikipedia, general species account).
It mainly eats nuts, seeds, fruit, bark, lichen and various other vegetation, though it may occasionally take insects and small vertebrates. It is native to Bangladesh, China, India, Myanmar and Nepal. The short source opened here gives nothing more on behaviour, breeding or abundance, so those are not stated. Nationally Least Concern (Nepal National Red List 2011).
Description: Wildlife of Nepal guide, Wildlife of Everywhere (wildlifeofeverywhere.com); general species information paraphrased from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA)