约炮视频 Magazine Fall 2025 At Home

It’s a Bird, It’s a Bat鈥擭o, It’s a Flying Squirrel. And It Might Be Closer Than You Think.

Flying squirrels are widespread across the United States, but spotting the nocturnal rodents takes some effort. Unless you're a Spotted Owl, that is.
A long exposure photo showing the movement of a flying squirrel gliding from a tree across a starry night sky.
Gliding like a ghost in the moonlight, a flying squirrel crosses the starry sky in the Catskill Mountains of New York. Photographer Carla Rhodes made this photo as part of her series called Operation Flying Squirrel, which employs a range of techniques including traditional photography, remote cameras, infrared imaging, and extensive surveillance footage. Photo: Carla Rhodes
Words by Jason Bittel
Contributor, 约炮视频 magazine
Photography by Carla Rhodes
Published Fall 2025

Many people have no idea that they share a neighborhood with one of the three flying squirrel species found in the United States: northern, southern, and Humboldt鈥檚. That鈥檚 not so surprising when you consider that flying squirrels live in trees and come out only at night, says Corinne Diggins, a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service biologist. 

Aerial acrobatics aren鈥檛 all that sets these rodents apart from other squirrels.

Equipped with a patagium鈥攁 flap of skin between the arms and legs鈥攁s well as a flat, rudderlike tail, flying squirrels can launch themselves from one tree and glide gently and silently toward another. Just don鈥檛 mistake these graceful descents for actual flight: The rodents have nothing on birds. 鈥淔lying squirrels don鈥檛 fly,鈥 Diggins says. 鈥淭hey fall with style.鈥 

Aerial acrobatics aren鈥檛 all that sets these rodents apart from other squirrels. Flying squirrels are extremely chatty, Diggins says, but most of their calls are too high-pitched for human ears and can be heard only with a bat detector. These squirrels also glow pink under ultraviolet light, though scientists aren鈥檛 sure why. On top of their coolness factor, flying squirrels play an important role in forest food chains. They get nabbed by weasels, martens, foxes, and other predators鈥攊ncluding rare and imperiled Spotted Owls, for which the rodents are a primary form of prey. 

Two species鈥攏orthern and southern flying squirrels鈥攊nhabit large ranges across North America, closely tied to their preferred habitat. Northern flying squirrels mainly stick to coniferous forests; their range covers much of Canada and extends into many of the northernmost United States, with pockets as far south as North Carolina. The southern flying squirrel prefers deciduous hardwood forests, and its range neatly covers the eastern half of the United States plus some patches in Mexico. The third North American species, Humboldt's flying squirrel, occupies a small range in the Pacific Northwest and California.

What can a nature lover do to bring the elusive flying squirrel into view? You probably don鈥檛 want to hear this, but: 鈥淭hey鈥檒l come to bird feeders,鈥 Diggins says. In the wild, flying squirrels enjoy a diverse mix of truffles, fruits, nuts, insects, and even small birds. But if you were to simply slap some peanut butter suet on a tree and train a trail camera on it, Diggins says, you might just catch a glimpse of these gliding ghosts.

This story originally ran in the Fall 2025 issue as 鈥淗igh Flyers.鈥 To receive our print magazine, become a member by .