Tamiasciurus

Tamiasciurus is a genus of small tree squirrel commonly called pine squirrels, placed in the tribe Sciurini within the squirrel family Sciuridae. The genus contains three species, the Douglas squirrel, the southwestern red squirrel and the American red squirrel, all native to North America across the northern and western United States, most of Canada, Alaska and northwestern Mexico. Pine squirrels are small tree squirrels with bushy tails that feed on a mix of fungi, plants, arthropods and tree seed. The genus name comes from Greek words meaning steward and squirrel, and pine squirrels are commonly but confusingly also called red squirrels, a name shared with the unrelated Eurasian red squirrel.