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Do squirrels eat smaller animal such as Mice, Rats or Birds?

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The appetite of a squirrel doesn’t really include other animals such as mice, rats, or birds. You won’t find them going out and killing them as food. However, they just may kill smaller animals as a sport but still, you won’t really find many squirrels eating them, they are not omnivorous so they don’t really eat flesh.

The eating habits of a Squirrel

Squirrels don’t normally just eat anything that is given to them, they can be rather selective, check out our guide on what squirrels do eat. You will find squirrels eating fruits, they actually prefer eating ripe fruits and won’t really pick out unripened ones. They also enjoy picking their own fruits from trees.

Do Squirrels Eat Birds?

There have been instances where squirrels have been found to eat smaller birds, newborn ones. However, they don’t go out of their way to hunt them. It is also nearly impossible for them to eat birds when they grow because it is difficult for them to catch birds so they aren’t really a part of their diet. They may eat smaller birds that cannot fly if they come across a bird’s nest with smaller birds present.

Do Squirrels Eat Mice or Rats?

When it comes to rats and mice, squirrels and are opposites. Most squirrels are active in the daytime while mice and rats are more active at night. So the two don’t cross paths a whole lot. Plus, mice and rats are slightly quicker than a squirrel and run to their nest whenever they sense danger. Which makes it difficult for squirrels to catch them. Therefore, you don’t see many squirrels killing and eating rats and mice.

Even when they do end up catching mice, rats or birds it usually isn’t for food. They just kill them for fun. You would only find them eating smaller animals when they are extremely hungry with no other option for food.

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