Red-bellied Squirrel Chinese name: Red-belled Tree Squirrel English name: Callosciurus erythraeus Pallas Classification: Rodent, Squirrel Family, Squirrel Habitat: Forest below 2500 meters above sea level to flat land Food: seeds, fruits, flower buds, flower weight: pear 45g, head length: 20cm, Tail length: 7.6-25.4cm, number of offspring: 3-4 red-bellied squirrels distributed in Shaanxi, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Anhui, Hubei, Sichuan, Yunnan, Tibet, Fujian, Taiwan Province and Southeast Asia, with grayish brown back and red millet belly. Except in breeding and feeding seasons, most of them appear alone. They live in trees during the day, peak in the morning and dusk, and move in the grass at noon. Squirrels climb up and down trees faster than on the ground. Besides living in virgin forest areas, squirrels can also be found in rocks and trees, mostly land and semi-aquatic animals. Red-bellied squirrel is the most common squirrel in Taiwan Province Province. It is difficult to determine the name of its subspecies. Its back is dark brown and its abdomen is chestnut red, which is the same feature of the four subspecies. If subdivided, some ventral surfaces are consistent deep chestnut red, some ventral surfaces have mottled longitudinal zones, and some ventral surfaces have grayish brown longitudinal zones, which is one of the bases for identifying subspecies. You can see the distribution from the flat to 3000 meters. It lives in the forest area and is active during the day, but it is concentrated in the early morning or dusk. They mainly feed on young leaves and drupes. They bark and destroy the forest. In autumn, drupes are usually stored centrally to spend the winter. They breed twice a year in March and July, giving birth to two or three squirrels. This is the most common squirrel in Taiwan Province Province, which can be seen from the flat ground to the forest at an altitude of 2,500 meters. Their habitat is very vast and can adapt to the environment after human destruction, whether it is orchards or bamboo forests. They can all adapt well and are almost the most advantageous mammals living in trees. During the Japanese occupation, the red-bellied squirrel was once brought to the Japanese zoo for people to watch. Since the Great Kanto Earthquake, red-bellied squirrels have escaped from the park, and within a few years, they have become a domesticated animal of a huge group. It is conceivable that red-bellied squirrels have strong adaptability. Red-bellied squirrels are about 20 centimeters long and weigh mostly under 500 grams. Only the head, chest, abdomen and limbs are short hair, and the rest are long hair, especially the tail hair is extremely swollen, so it is commonly called "swollen mouse". Generally speaking, red-bellied squirrels are olive brown except for red hair on their bellies. But its body color is very different, and it is fashionable to find albino individuals, even those with gray circles, patches or stripes, so scholars in the past often treat it this way. However, in February and May of 65438+, the peak period is that the male red-bellied squirrel will perch on the tree, hold his head high, shout loudly, and make a bright, monotonous and continuous cry, which on the one hand attracts the attention of females and on the other hand divides the territory. Squirrels in Taiwan Province Province usually make their own nests, and rarely use ready-made tree holes to make their nests (probably because of excessive logging and no old trees to provide nests). The diameter of the squirrel's nest is about. Most of them are located in big trees, sometimes in bamboo forests, surrounded by dead leaves of bamboo branches. Finally, there is a brooding room with a diameter of about 15cm in the center, which is paved with dried bark, mountain palm or tender leaves bitten into ribbons. Observing the nests made by red-bellied squirrels, I can't help admiring their cleverness. Where they nest, most of them will bite off the buds in the center of the branches and leaves, making the branches and leaves. Hide the nest. Squirrels give birth to about 3- 14 at a time, which is considered as a very prolific small animal. Squirrels are animals that move during the day. They usually go out for food at dawn every day, and generally feed on seeds, fruits, buds and flowers. However, under the squirrel's nest, many beetles' shells have been found. Maybe they occasionally prey on insects that fly near them. Every day at noon, the activities of red-bellied squirrels will be temporarily suspended until the afternoon.