Himalayan flying squirrel ID
I was recently currently in Singalila national park in Sikkim, NE India. We had seen Bhutan flying squirrels every night but then we spotted a much smaller spp at 2100m. According to the book, the only small flying squirrels here are either particolored (H.alboniger) or hairy footed (B. pearsonii) . The first animal was emerging from its hiding place. It has a faint “v” shaped marking on the top of its head and some ochre colouring. I only could get these head-shots. This makes me think it’s more likely pearsonii ( photo 1). Thoughts?
The second animal was further up the road . Again a small animal that was moving very quickly in the canopy unlike the lethargic Bhutan flying squirrels. I only managed one blurred shot before it glided off …..but again there were tinges of orange on its flank. (photo 3).
Is alboniger strictly grey/white? If so , I guess this must be pearsonii. Any help with the ID would be great.
4 Comments
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Stuart Chapman
Thanks Daan for your thoughts. Do you have any photo’s to reference? There are so few either reliable or clear photos of the Himalayan flying squirrels, which is surprising given their relative abundance in forested areas. Would be happy to compare photos on Bhutan/Hodgson’s as I believe I have seen/photographed both lol
Email stuartachapman@gmail.com-
Daan Drukker
Hi Stuart, well I’m trying to help Lieven De Temmerman with ID of this specimen (which should be Hodgson’s based on distribution): https://observation.org/observation/241559459/
If I compare photos on iNaturalist, I do not really see differences (yet) between the two species: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations?taxon_id=45985 and https://www.inaturalist.org/observations?taxon_id=45983, even though many photos are of good quality. I have trouble interpreting the descriptions in Squirrels of the World of both species.
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Daan Drukker
According to Thorington et al (2012) , alboniger is brown on the dorsum too, so I would not rule out that species. Interesting stuff and while we are on the subject: how can we separate Bhutan from Hodgson’s Giant Flying Squirrels?