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Montana Field Guides

Northern Flying Squirrel - Glaucomys sabrinus

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Native Species

Global Rank: G5
State Rank: S5
(see State Rank Reason below)


Agency Status
USFWS:
USFS:
BLM:


 

External Links


Listen to an Audio Sample
Copyright Jeff Rice and the Western Soundscape Archive at the University of Utah. Audio file courtesy of the Acoustic Atlas at Montana State University (www.acousticatlas.org)
State Rank Reason (see State Rank above)
Species is uncommon but wide-spread in forested habitat. It faces threats low-level threats from habitat loss due to fire and treatments such as thinning. However the species may compensate for this loss by increased occupancy of surrounding areas.
Northern Flying Squirrel (Glaucomys sabrinus) Conservation Status Summary
State Rank: S5
Review Date = 09/16/2024
See the complete Conservation Status Rank Report
How we calculate Conservation Status Ranks
 
General Description
We do not yet have descriptive information on this species.  Please try the buttons above to search for information from other sources.

Species Range
Montana Range Range Descriptions

Native
 


Observations in Montana Natural Heritage Program Database
Number of Observations: 326

(Click on the following maps and charts to see full sized version) Map Help and Descriptions
Relative Density

Recency

 

(Observations spanning multiple months or years are excluded from time charts)



Migration
Non-migratory.

Habitat
Montane and subalpine coniferous forests. May also be found in riparian cottonwood forests (Hoffmann and Pattie 1968).

National Vegetation Classification System Groups Associated with this Species
Forest and Woodland
Deciduous Forest and Woodland
Rocky Mountain Aspen Forest and Woodland
Low Elevation - Xeric Forest and Woodland
Foothills Limber Pine - Juniper Woodland
Rocky Mountain Ponderosa Pine Forest and Woodland
Utah Juniper Woodland
Montane - Subalpine Forest and Woodland
Cedar - Hemlock Forest
Dry Spruce-fir Forest
Interior PNW Douglas-fir Forest and Woodland
Lodgepole Pine Forest
Mesic Spruce-fir Forest
Montane - Subalpine Limber Pine Woodland
Montane Mesic Coniferous (Grand Fir - Douglas-fir - Western Larch) Forest
Rocky Mountain Douglas-fir Forest
Whitebark Pine - Subalpine Larch Forest and Woodland
Wetland and Riparian
Riparian and Wetland Forest
Lowland - Montane Riparian Deciduous Forest
Montane - Subalpine Riparian Forest
Montane Forested Wetland
Riparian Shrubland
Lowland - Montane Riparian Shrubland
Recently Disturbed or Modified
Harvested Forest
Recently Logged
Insect-Killed Forest
Recent Insect/Disease Damage
Recently Burned
Recently Burned Forest
Human Land Use
Developed
Developed - Low and Medium Intensity
Developed - Vegetation

Food Habits
Food habits not well documented. Seeds, fruits, flowers, insects, tree sap, fungus. Perhaps eggs and meat.

Ecology
Arboreal. Average gliding distance 50 to 60 feet. 150 feet is possible. 270 feet (down a mountainside) has been observed. Nests are constructed either within natural cavities or abandoned woodpecker holes in dead standing trees, or they are built over limbs or within witches' brooms.

Reproductive Characteristics
Mates late March to May, young born late May to June. Late litters have been cited as evidence of second litter/year. Weaning occurs at 2 months. May stay with mother for longer period.


References
  • Literature Cited AboveLegend:   View Online Publication
    • Hoffmann, R.S. and D.L. Pattie. 1968. A guide to Montana mammals: identification, habitat, distribution, and abundance. Missoula, MT: University of Montana. 133 p.
  • Additional ReferencesLegend:   View Online Publication
    Do you know of a citation we're missing?
    • [WWPC] Washington Water Power Company. 1995. 1994 wildlife report Noxon Rapids and Cabinet Gorge Reservoirs. Washington Water Power Company. Spokane, WA.
    • Adelman, E.B. 1979. A survey of the nongame mammals in the Upper Rattlesnake Creek drainage of western Montana. M.S. thesis. University of Montana, Missoula. 129 pp.
    • Buck, C.L. 1939. Pattern correlation of mammalian teeth as a means of identification. M.Sc. Thesis. Bozeman, Montana: Montana State University. 55 p.
    • Carey, A. B. 1991. The biology of arboreal rodents in Douglas-fir forests. USDA, Forest Service, Gen.Tech.Rep. PNW-276.
    • Cramer, P.C. 1992. Small mammal diversity and abundance in Douglas Fir old growth forests. M.Sc. Thesis. Bozeman, MT: Montana State University. 64 p.
    • Dice, L.R. 1923. Mammal associations and habitats of the Flathead Lake Region, Montana. Ecology 4(3): 247-260.
    • Flath, Dennis and David Dickson. 1994 Systematic wildlife observations on the Blackfoot-Clearwater Wildlife Management Area 1991-1993. Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks.
    • Foresman, K.R. 2001. The wild mammals of Montana. American Society of Mammalogists, Special Publication Number 12. Lawrence, KS. 278 pp.
    • Foresman, K.R. 2012. Mammals of Montana. Second edition. Mountain Press Publishing, Missoula, Montana. 429 pp.
    • Halvoison, C. H. 1982. Rodent occurrence, habitat disturbance and seed fall in a larch-fir forest. Ecology 63(2):423-433.
    • Hanauska-Brown, L., B.A. Maxell, A. Petersen, and S. Story. 2014. Diversity Monitoring in Montana 2008-2010 Final Report. Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks. Helena, MT. 78 pp.
    • Hayward, G.D., R. Rosentreter, Lichens as nesting Material for Northern Flying Squirrels in the Northern Rocky Mountains, J.Mamm., 75(3):663-673, 1994.
    • Johnson, L.J. 1960. Mammal studies on the Lubrecht Forest, Montana: a preliminary report. Proc. Mont. Acad. Sci. 20: 40-47.
    • Joslin, Gayle, and Heidi B. Youmans. 1999. Effects of recreation on Rocky Mountain wildlife: a review for Montana. [Montana]: Montana Chapter of the Wildlife Society.
    • Key, C.H. 1979. Mammalian utilization of floodplain habitats along the North Fork of the Flathead River in Glacier National Park, Montana. M.S. thesis. University of Montana, Missoula.
    • Martin, Steve A., ECON, Inc., Helena, MT., 1982, Flathead Project Wildlife Report, 1981-1982. November 30, 1982.
    • Northern Flying Squirrel Recovery Team. 1990. Appalachian Northern flying squirrel draft recovery plan. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Region 5. 52 pp.
    • Oechsli, L.M. 2000. Ex-urban development in the Rocky Mountain West: consequences for native vegetation, wildlife diversity, and land-use planning in Big Sky, Montana. M.Sc. Thesis. Montana State University, Bozeman. 73 p.
    • Plopper, C.E. 1968. Insular and mainland populations of Peromyscus maniculatus at Flathead Lake, Montana. M.S. thesis. University of Montana, Missoula. 91 pp.
    • Reid, F. 2006. Peterson Field Guide to Mammals of North America, 4th Edition. Houghton Mifflin Company: Boston and New York, 608 pp.
    • Rust, H. J. 1946. Mammals of northern Idaho. J. Mammal. 27(4): 308-327.
    • Sawyer, H. E. 1935. Studies on the rodents of Montana. M.A. thesis. University of Montana, Missoula. 111 pp.
    • Thompson, Richard W., Western Resource Dev. Corp., Boulder, CO., 1996, Wildlife baseline report for the Montana [Montanore] Project, Lincoln and Sanders counties, Montana. In Application for a Hard Rock Operating Permit and Proposed Plan of Operation, Montanore Project, Lincoln and Sanders Counties, Montana. Vol. 5. Stroiazzo, John. Noranda Minerals Corp., Libby, MT. Revised September 1996.
    • Tweten, R.G. 1984. Baseline survey of furbearing mammals within the South Fork drainage Sun River, Montana. M.Sc. Thesis. Bozeman, MT: Montana State University. 63 p.
    • Weckwerth, R.P. 1957. The relationship between the marten population and the abundance of small mammals in Glacier National Park. M.S. thesis. University of Montana, Missoula. 76 pp.
    • Weigl, P.D. and D.W. Osgood. 1974. Study of the northern flying squirrel, Glaucomys sabrinus, by temperature telemetry. Am. Midl. Nat. 92(2):482-486.
    • Wells-Gosling, N. and L.R. Heaney. 1984. Glaucomys sabrinus. Mamm. Species No. 229. 8 pp.
    • Wood, M.A. 1981. Small mammal communities after two recent fires in Yellowstone National Park. M.Sc. Thesis. Bozeman, Montana: Montana State University. 58 p.
  • Web Search Engines for Articles on "Northern Flying Squirrel"
  • Additional Sources of Information Related to "Mammals"
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Citation for data on this website:
Northern Flying Squirrel — Glaucomys sabrinus.  Montana Field Guide.  .  Retrieved on , from