Well, it's no wonder I've had such a hard time identifying the squirrels around here. Depending on the lighting, the eastern fox squirrel (yes, it's an introduced species in CA) and the California ground squirrel look very similar. I've finally figured out the tails are distinctive between the two species; the eastern fox squirrel has a much longer and bushier tail, which makes sense since it's a tree squirrel and probably uses its tail for balance. While most of my squirrel posts are of Fatty, a slothly CA ground squirrel, I was barely quick enough to capture these two fox squirrels as they chased each other through the trees and over the rock. My National Audubon Society Field Guide to California indicates the eastern fox squirrel is larger than the CA ground squirrel... although, the writers must not have seen our Fatty.
