Speaking of fauna in exotic countries, does the UK have squirrels? I see British-sounding tourists oohing and aahing over the tree rats in NY sometimes. But maybe they're not really British.

And compared to the Japanese tourists in Harvard Yard, who would go into high-pitched rhapsodies of cuteness overload over the tree rats, they were pretty sedate. But I'm still wondering.

Now I want a British robin. Sulk.

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But we all know how well importing sparrows worked out. And starlings.

does the UK have squirrels?

Oh, you know not what a sore point this is. Yes, we have red squirrels native to these isles, as immortalised by Beatrix Potter in some of her children's books, and we have the bastard immigrant hardier-than hardy American grey squirrels who have pretty much eaten them out of house and home.

I've never ever seen a red squirrel. Grey squirrels are all over the place, but we do go "Oooh! Squirrels!" just the same as we go "Oooh! Urban foxes!" We're easily impressed.

American killer squirrels. Sheesh. Do you have the black mutation over there? They sometimes appear in grey litters and are really pretty. They're found in a lot of places in the eastern seaboard and every town that has them seems to think it's the only one that does. The mutation's common in NYC but there aren't any in Boston.

Then there's the famous white squirrels, most of whom seem to have dark eyes and aren't albinos. "Not one, but five towns use albino squirrels as their claims to fame, and none is particularly happy about the others." Naturally. BTW, Roadside America is a great site for an affectionate journey through the freaky side of America. I guess right here is the other great site.

You're welcome to go "Oooh! Squirrels!" but then you're supposed to use the squirrel gun.

I saw a bunch of black squirrels when I was camping in Ontario this summer.

And suddenly I'm flashing on the episode of Blackadder the third which featured Miranda Richardson as a highwaywoman. There was a squirrel-shooting sequence that had me giggling like a maniac.

American killer squirrels. Sheesh. Do you have the black mutation over there?

We have a some very densly forested parklands in the Portland area filled with black squirrels.

t /Mirkwood Reference

I've got black squirrels in the backyard of the house my apartment looks out on in the Bronx right now, and they're fuckin' great!

Roadside America's black squirrel page.

Boston is not blessed with the cool black squirrels, but some of the greys have reddish tails and occasionally a weird red stripe down the middle of their backs. Maybe English red squirrels are infiltrating.

Edited to note that the weird red stripe isn't the result of somebody using a squirrel gun, it's red fur.

And if a UK immigrant named the American bird, it must have been before the widespread introduction of eyeglasses.

There are a fair few species in the world called robins now, on the basis (of course) of having a red breast (or possibly being related to a red-breasted bird). My Complete Book of Australian Birds lists over 15 native species called robins on that continent alone. (It also records that in the 1860s, an unsuccessful attempt was made to introduce the European robin. And that we have an escaped population of ostriches north of Port Augusta, that's survived from the 1870s. There you go.)

Then there's the famous white squirrels, most of whom seem to have dark eyes and aren't albinos.

I have photos of an albino squirrel we saw in Hershey, PA. (Just checked it - pink eye and all.) Had to chase it halfway round Zoo America to get the shot. We get black squirrels around my apartment block - they seem stroppier than the normal grey ones.

Boston is not blessed with the cool black squirrels, but some of the greys have reddish tails and occasionally a weird red stripe down the middle of their backs. Maybe English red squirrels are infiltrating.

Yup. I think they're sneaking in from Canada. I see them all the time when we camp in Maine, and I remember first seeing them when I was in Nova Scotia years and years ago.