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Southern flying squirrel

Glaucomys volans · Squirrels · Small game

Southern flying squirrel (Glaucomys volans): Greyish-brown back with an off-white cream belly. Loose gliding membrane bordered by black hair from wrist to ankle. This profile does not establish whether taking it is legal anywhere.

Check rules for a place and dateOpen the southern flying squirrel map

Certified rules currently represented in Hunt: coverage in development. This is coverage, not a legal answer.

Scientific name
Glaucomys volans
Family
Sciuridae
In North America
Native
Range
Eastern North America from Quebec south through the eastern United States (source gives Quebec to Honduras overall).
Biology

How to identify it

Greyish-brown back with an off-white cream belly. [1]

Loose gliding membrane bordered by black hair from wrist to ankle. [1]

Large eyes and pink hairless inner ears; 38-90 g, 200-285 mm. [1]

Smaller than the northern flying squirrel. [1]

Compared with the northern flying squirrel: Larger, with grey-based belly hairs rather than cream. [1]

Species it is confused with

Check these before deciding what you are looking at. If you are not certain what it is, do not shoot.

Field notes

  • Identification Confirm a southern flying squirrel before you act. Compared with the northern flying squirrel: Larger, with grey-based belly hairs rather than cream.[1]
Field knowledge

Where it lives

Deciduous and mixed temperate forest (beech-maple, oak-hickory, poplar). Nests in tree cavities, old woodpecker holes or leaf nests, often within 100 m of water. [1]

Field knowledge

How it behaves

Strictly nocturnal, active year-round except in extreme cold [1]

Highly social; up to 20 nest together in winter [1]

Glides up to about 28 m between trees [1]

Omnivorous: insects, nuts, bird eggs, berries, seeds; caches food; calls include arc-whistles, trills and ultrasonic sounds [1]

Regulatory handoff

Where it is listed for legal take

These authorities list this species for legal take in their own regulations.

Where legal take is listed

Being listed is not an open season. Seasons, zones, licences, methods and limits decide whether this animal may be taken on a given day and place — check Hunt or the authority before you go. Listings read 2026-09-30.

Geospatial intelligence

Where it is found

Eastern North America from Quebec south through the eastern United States (source gives Quebec to Honduras overall).

Biology

Sources

Every claim above is attributed to one of these published sources.

  1. Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan Museum of Zoology · reviewed 2026-09-30

    Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan Museum of Zoology