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red squirrel
noun
: a common and widely distributed North American squirrel (Tamiasciurus hudsonicus) that has reddish upper parts and is smaller than the gray squirrel
Examples of red squirrel in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Damage from fire and insects and interruptions due to human structures have created a disconnected mosaic of habitat for red squirrels.
—Hayleigh Evans, The Arizona Republic, 19 Mar. 2024
The sudden appearance of bright red squirrels in one New York town led investigators to discover they were being intentionally painted and released into the wild, according to investigators.
—Mark Price, Miami Herald, 5 Feb. 2024
According to a February press release from the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC), which the agency also shared on Facebook, officials started noticing bright red squirrels in Putnam County in late 2023.
—Kelli Bender, Peoplemag, 26 Feb. 2024
Some British restaurants have put grey squirrel dishes on their menus, and one company even sells grey squirrel pate--accented with hazelnuts and Frangelico--and donates the proceeds to a red squirrel conservation group.
—Discover Magazine, 29 June 2010
For instance, American red squirrels (Tamiasciurus hudsonicus) often depend on a small number of pine trees for their food, says Lucia Jacobs, a professor emerita of psychology and neuroscience at the University of California, Berkeley.
—Emma Bryce, Scientific American, 20 Nov. 2023
Meanwhile the Eurasian red squirrel (Sciurus vulgaris), the fox squirrel (Sciurus niger) and the eastern gray squirrel (Sciurus carolinensis)—the most common backyard squirrel in the eastern U.S.—tend to favor scatter hoarding.
—Emma Bryce, Scientific American, 20 Nov. 2023
Winnie the Pooh's reference to King Charles and his fondness for red squirrels is true, as a video from 2015 of King Charles at a residence in Birkhall, Scotland, once showed.
—Kimberlee Speakman, Peoplemag, 8 May 2023
One of the last remaining populations of red squirrels in the U.K., for example, still harbors a medieval strain of leprosy, possibly shipped into England by Viking fur traders.
—James P. Close, Scientific American, 1 Nov. 2020
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'red squirrel.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
First Known Use
1682, in the meaning defined above
Dictionary Entries Near red squirrel
Cite this Entry
“Red squirrel.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/red%20squirrel. Accessed 18 Apr. 2024.
Kids Definition
red squirrel
noun
: a common North American squirrel that has reddish upper parts and is smaller than the gray squirrel
More from Merriam-Webster on red squirrel
Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about red squirrel
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