Same woods. Same downed tree. Approximately 2 minutes delay. The black-phase grey squirrel showed up first, followed by the grey-phase version, about two minutes later.
Although the black coloration sacrifices some camouflage and protection from predators like hawks, the evolved black phenotype – in colder, higher-elevation portions of our region – has an ever-so-slight wintertime heat preservation advantage over grey coloration.
This is why outdoor enthusiasts tend to see more black-phase grey squirrels in far north-central Pennsylvania and western New York than in southern Pennsylvania.
