Another name for a red squirrel, a small North American tree squirrel with reddish fur and tufted ears.
From an imitative or onomatopoetic origin, possibly related to the squirrel's chattering call, similar to how 'chickadee' derives from bird calls. First documented in North American English in the 19th century.
Chickarees are obsessive hoarders who create 'midden piles'—massive collections of pine cone scales and debris that can be several feet tall—and individual squirrels are so territorial about their middens that scientists can use them to track the same squirrel's territory over years.
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