Information on Brown and Black squirrels?

[deertrap]

I know plenty about the “Black Squirrel”. I hunted these in New Zealand; they are not easy to find but worth the wait as they taste delicious. They have a much richer taste to the common grey and are far bigger “more to go around”. I havent seen any in the UK but if I do I will keep you informed.

[~T~]

I'm not sure why people keep saying that the black form is bigger than the grey form, they are the same species only different colour. Where my girlfriend lives in Washington DC there are loads of black ones, in fact more of the black from than the grey form. One thing I have noticed and she has also (and she has very little interest in wildlife) is that the American greys (at least round about the East coast) are noticibly smaller and sleeker than the the ones living in the UK. The tail in particular is much bushier. All I can think of is that it has to do with our generally cooler climate.

[RoyW]

Originally Posted by ~T~

I'm not sure why people keep saying that the black form is bigger than the grey form...

Probably a variety of reasons, perhaps including mis-understanding and possibly mis-identification (ie. not all squirrels in the US are the same species).
In North America there is apparently a clinal increase in body mass from south to north in Grey Squirrels. Recorded weights of Greys in England are similar to the range recorded in North America, although the weights at the lower end of the range given in the Mammal Societies 'Mammals of the British Isles' are higher than the lowest quoted by the American Society of Mammalogists for America.

Originally Posted by deertrap

I know plenty about the “Black Squirrel”. I hunted these in New Zealand; they are not easy to find but worth the wait as they taste delicious.

I'm curious about this statement because there does not appear to be any record of any squirrel species having been introduced to New Zealand, let alone black Grey Squirrels. The only reference that I have been able to find to squirrels in New Zealand is that both Grey and Red are on a list of species for which importation is banned.

[Brocakat]

Probably a common name / misnomer for the Possums that ARE there.