Smithsonian Snapshot
It’s a Bird! It’s a Plane! It’s a…Squirrel!
Plate from the "Report of the Commissioner of Patents for the year 1856, Agriculure." Smithsonian Libraries.
It’s a Bird! It’s a Plane! It’s a…Squirrel!
Flying squirrels are pretty common, but they’re nocturnal and not often seen.
Caped flying squirrels, however, are extraordinarily uncommon.
This illustration is from the Report of the Commissioner of Patents for the year 1856, Agriculture in the Smithsonian Libraries’ collections, and although unidentified, the squirrel is likely Glaucomys volans, the southern flying squirrel. Learn more at the Encyclopedia of Life.