A special visitor with a lustrous coat

We've always had an abundant population of fox squirrels in the Omaha area. However we're increasingly seeing the black variant as well. Council Bluffs, Iowa, just across the Missouri River from Omaha has long been known for its large population of these squirrels, as have numerous other cities across the USA. Watching them go from a rarity to an increasingly common sight in the Omaha area, where they now make up a 5-8% percentage of the fox squirrel population, begs the question why the squirrels have the increased melanin. This fellow is a regular at my backyard bird feeders and watering stations. There is a even rarer one, with white patches on the black fur that also visits.

Nikon D7000 DSLR, Sigma 100-300mm lens at 300mm with 2x teleconverter, f/5.6, 1/1600th second, ISO 3200.

Cropped and sharpened.