Originally Posted By: misparkzWe've always had "regular" fox squirrels in my area. Northern Michigan and along Lake Michigan had more of the black squirrels. About five years ago I noticed a few black ones showing up in some of my deer spots north of here. Last year they moved closer yet and now this year I have them by my stand right behind the house. I'm not sure why but they definitely are moving/expanding. A few differences that I have noticed between them and the regular fox squirrels are that they stay out later at night, they have totally different vocabulary, they are more acrobatic always springing from one trunk or branch to another, and they definitely like to antagonize the regular squirrels. The nice thing is they stand out like a sore thumb if you're into hunting squirrels!
Michigan black squirrels are a color phase of the gray squirrel not the fox, both can be in the same litter. The differents you observe are typical gray squirrel behavior.