Sciurus variegatoides
Silhouette: Ferran Sayol · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~80% in a week >90%
The variegated squirrel (Sciurus variegatoides) is a tree squirrel in the genus Sciurus found in Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, southern Mexico, Nicaragua, and Panama. Fifteen subspecies are recognised. It is a common squirrel and the International Union for Conservation of Nature has rated it a "least-concern species". Variegated squirrels kept as pets in Germany have been implicated in the transmission of a bornavirus to humans from which three people have died.
The variegated squirrel is a medium-sized squirrel; the head-and-body length is about 260 mm (10.2 in) with a tail of much the same length. It weighs about 500 g (18 oz). The several subspecies differ in appearance and there is often a considerable variation between the appearances of individuals in the same population. The dorsal colouration varies between dark brown to yellowish grey. The neck tends to be darker than other parts and there is often a paler patch behind the ears. The underparts are usually some shade of cinnamon. The tail is long and densely bushy; in Mexico it is black, sometimes with white tips to the hairs giving it a frosted appearance. In Nicaragua and Costa Rica, some... Wikipedia →
Call0:25
Honduras · 2023
© Enrique Mejía · XC992833 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
Call0:48
Panama · 2025
© Michael Clay · XC1060872 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
Recording0:25
El Salvador · 2020
© Rodríguez Viky · iNaturalist · CC BY-NC 4.0
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | San Pedro Sula | 🇭🇳 Honduras | |
| 2 | Tegucigalpa | 🇭🇳 Honduras | |
| 3 | San José | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 4 | Panama City | 🇵🇦 Panama | |
| 5 | San Salvador | 🇸🇻 El Salvador | |
| 6 | Managua | 🇳🇮 Nicaragua | |
| 7 | Guatemala City | 🇬🇹 Guatemala |
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Natura Artis Magistra | 🇳🇱 Netherlands | |
| 2 | Parque Municipal Summit | 🇵🇦 Panama | |
| 3 | Arequipa zoo | 🇵🇪 Peru |
Likely
About 40% of wildlife watchers report a Variegated Squirrel sighting in Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve on a given day, based on 189 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 4th most-seen of the 28 mammals we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 80%, and over a week to over 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.
January
In that month about 50% of wildlife watchers report a Variegated Squirrel in Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve on a given day, against about 30% in February, April–May and July–October, the lowest months. That is one of Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve's driest months, with about 95 mm of rain against 510 mm in October.
Between 8 and 11 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Variegated Squirrel sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
7th of 28
Of the 28 parks where we can rate Variegated Squirrel sightings, Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve ranks 7th at about 40%. The best odds are in Las Baulas Marine National Park (Costa Rica, about 70%), Ostional Wildlife Refuge (Costa Rica, about 70%) and Cabo Blanco Absolute Nature Reserve (Costa Rica, about 60%). All parks ranked.
Same genus: Sciurus
The closest relatives of the Variegated Squirrel that you can see in Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve (genus Sciurus, Tree Squirrels) are Red-tailed Squirrel (about 10%) and Deppe's Squirrel (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Variegated Squirrel is recorded against all the mammals logged in Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve (189 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
