The trilling chirr of the red squirrel is one of the most distinctive sounds of the north woods. Weighing only seven to twelve ounces (as much as three Mars bars), these tiny squirrels are lively acrobats. At times they seem to be just a streak of red as they scamper along the tallest branches of the big pines collecting pinecones for their food caches. These caches, often underground, hold upwards of two hundred pinecones. Red squirrels have such a keen sense of smell that they can easily locate them even under three feet of snow.
The oldest living line of modern squirrel is the flying squirrel. Although it cannot fly like a bird, it uses the furry, parachute-like membrane that stretches from wrist to ankle to help it glide between trees—with coasting flights recorded at almost three hundred feet. It grows to be around eleven inches long, including the tail, but weighs only two to five ounces. Like other squirrels, it eats nuts, acorns, fungi, and lichens.
Both the northern flying squirrel and the red squirrel live in evergreen forests across Canada and the top of the continental United States.
If you are ever in the north country, and you hear a happy chirr coming from a pine tree, look up. If you see a flash of red, it is likely that you have seen one of the great-great-great-great-great-grandchildren of Jean Pierre Petit Le Rouge, the littlest voyageur.