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First Ever Black Squirrel in Britain?

Dickydevo

Dickydevo

Gone But Not Forgotten
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Lady with black squirrel.png
Apparently this painting shows the first ever black squirrel found in Britain but if anyone can tell us more about the paintings subject matter and date I would be grateful.
 
Colour be damned. I hate them with their long tails and their stupid twitchy noses.
*draw and cocks matched flintlocks*
 
I can't find any references to the squirrel's colour. It appears to be darker than the red we expect, though the pigments may have faded or the varnish muted the colours with age. :confused:

Pictures of melanistic squirrels online show them to be deep, glossy black but Holbein's critter is very clearly distinct from the sitter's black dress. Both reds and greys can produce melanistic offspring but in both cases the black is striking.
 
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That picture was painted around 1524-1526.
Black squirrels were known to have been introduced in the 19th century.
James Whitehead may be correct about the pigment/varnish changes.
 
I've spent a lot of time outdoors, rough shooting was part of my misspent youth, and have never seen a black squirrel but I've seen several black rabbits, two white blackbirds and one white crow.
 
Coal said:
I've spent a lot of time outdoors, rough shooting was part of my misspent youth, and have never seen a black squirrel but I've seen several black rabbits, two white blackbirds and one white crow.
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The black squirrels are mostly in East Anglia - Cambs, Herts, Beds and Norfolk.
 
JamesWhitehead said:
I can't find any references to the squirrel's colour. It appears to be darker than the red we expect, though the pigments may have faded or the varnish muted the colours with age. :confused:

Pictures of melanistic squirrels online show them to be deep, glossy black but Holbein's critter is very clearly distinct from the sitter's black dress. Both reds and greys can produce melanistic offspring but in both cases the black is striking.
Click to expand...
Thanks all - I hadn`t thought it might not be one of the more glossy black variety. Another question is, how far back in time do British white ( i.e. albino,etc) go?
 
I've seen a couple in the car park at work. I work near Royston, Herts.
 
I'd not heard of these before but there are brunette squirrels as well.

It seems the black ones are variations of greys. Brunettes are variations of reds.

The brunettes, also known as "black-reds", are dark brown or black in colour but have the body shape of a red squirrel, with its distinctive tufty ears. They may have white markings, particularly on their stomachs.
Their discovery makes them the rarest of all the UK's squirrel varieties, with researchers unsure how many there may be.
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brunette-sq_2362135b.jpg
 
There are some of the darker "brunette" red squirrels amongst the surviving population at Formby, near Southport.
 
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