Gray-headed Giant Flying Squirrel

About this species

Size

Head and body 29.5–40cm; tail 34–40.5cm

Weight

760–1,560g

Diet

Fruits, seeds, leaves, buds and flowers (spotted giant flying squirrel account)

Habitat

Hill and mountain forest at 200–4,000m

Range

East Himalayan region and Southeast Asia north to central China

Litter size

1, occasionally 2 young

The grey-headed giant flying squirrel is treated in the account used here as a population group of the spotted giant flying squirrel, also called the lesser giant flying squirrel; some authorities regard it as a separate species. That species has a head and body length of about 29.5–40 cm, a tail of 34–40.5 cm and a weight of 760–1,560 g. The underparts are light orange-brown to pale rufous, and the colour of the head, upperparts and tail varies a lot between subspecies (Wikipedia, general account of the spotted giant flying squirrel).

It lives in hill and mountain forest at 200–4,000 m in Southeast Asia, north to central China and the eastern Himalaya, and one form reaches easternmost Arunachal Pradesh in India. It is nocturnal and glides between trees. It is a rather noisy animal with a drawn-out cry that can often be heard at night, and spends the day in a tree hollow, less often on a cliff ledge or in a vegetation nest. It feeds on fruits, seeds, leaves, buds and flowers, with one, occasionally two, young per litter (Wikipedia, general account of the spotted giant flying squirrel).

Description: Wildlife of India guide, Wildlife of Everywhere (wildlifeofeverywhere.com); general species information paraphrased from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA)