Do squirrels kill mice, rats, or birds?

Sometimes squirrels will eat birds or mice. They will also eat some other small animals when they are really hungry. They will not typically hunt them down, but a lack of food can force them to do so. Sometimes they may choose to eat them when they find the carcass of these animals. The squirrel may also raid the nests of birds to get their eggs.



Squirrels are found in the Sciuridae family, which is a family that includes medium and small sized rodents. Squirrels do not digest cellulose, and they rely on foods that are rich in fats, carbohydrates and protein. In the temperate regions, the spring is hard for the squirrels since the nuts that they have buried will start to sprout and they cannot be eaten by them. This is the time that they will rely more on the green vegetation, fungi, fruits, conifer cones, and seeds. However, the squirrels will choose to eat meat if they face hunger. Squirrels have been known to eat young snakes, small rodents, small birds, eggs and insects. Some species have turned to eating insects only for their diet.

The predator behavior has been noted in some species, especially the ground squirrels. Some squirrels may prey upon young chickens or they can eat a snake that has been just killed. There are some that can also eat rodents and lizards.

Many people will think that squirrels only eat seeds and nuts, but this is not the reality. The large portion is mostly plants, but any animal based food is also eaten when it is available. The squirrels do eat flowers, tree buds, seeds and nuts from spruce, pine, maple, hickory, hemlock, hackberry, elm, dogwood, cedar and butternut. Squirrels will also eat mushrooms when they find them.

When squirrels and humans interact, the squirrel may have additional food in their diet. Some of these are derived from natural sources while others may not be that natural but squirrels end up loving them. Such natural sources include carrots, strawberries, zucchini, pumpkin, pistachios, peanuts, peanut butter and peanuts. The best food that the squirrels like is nuts, especially when they are still in the shell. However, because the shelled version is not at the market, you can get them from farms. The nut based blends and sunflower seeds can also double as squirrel food.

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Do squirrels kill mice, rats, or birds?