The ubiquitous gray squirrels that populate our backyards, raid our bird feeders and confound our pets are such common urban denizens that it’s easy to overlook their brainy resourcefulness. In the weeks preceding the first snowfall, these busy rodents harvest and bury thousands of acorns and other nuts, build a shelter that protects them from the most inclement weather, and still find the time -- and surplus food -- to fatten themselves up for the long winter. Indeed, recent studies suggest that these guys may have a lot more on the ball than we think.

Researchers at Central Connecticut State University have found that squirrels protect their food supply by employing “deceptive behavior.” When researchers observed some squirrels burying peanuts, they noted the locations of the nuts and dug them up. When given more peanuts to bury, the squirrels subsequently dug holes where they pretended to bury them before stashing them in other holes, hiding them under bushes, or bringing the nuts into their nests.

A number of species of animals display deceptive behavior, biology professor Sylvia Halkin, who led the study, told the Seattle Times. Overall, however, it’s fairly rare. The study, she said, “Gives us a glimpse into the kinds of mental processes that may be going on in their heads.”

Other studies have shown the rodents to selectively bury their nuts and acorns: They eat the acorns that tend to be more perishable, like those from white oaks, and they store the ones that last, like acorns from red oaks.

And the leafy nests clinging to the bare branches of any number of trees in your neighborhood are marvels of architecture and engineering. Assembled with an internal skeleton of sticks that keep the insulating leaves in place and an external lattice work of twigs that secure the outer layer of leaves, these nests can withstand the most violent weather. Its insulating layers allow the squirrel to maintain enough body heat to survive sub-zero temperatures.

Wilderness instructors use the squirrel nest as a model for “debris shelters” designed to protect people from the harshest elements in the wild.

There’s probably a good deal we can learn from the crafty squirrel: Resourcefulness, determination, and cunning, certainly; a taste for acorns, maybe. But that’s not to say they’re without weaknesses. They can hide their food, researchers note, but they forget where they put about half their stash each fall. And the streets are full of flattened furry examples of poor spatial perception (a squirrel’s eyes are on the side of its head, which affects its ability to judge distance).

Still, the next time you see one of these rodents clinging to the top of your bird feeder while it cleans out the seeds, you might want to tip your cap rather than curse the intrusion. It’s a long winter, after all, and these guys are just trying to get by.

From MOQ winter 2008. A new winter edition of MOQ is in the works even now. Look for it around the solstice at independent bookstores, co-ops, or in your mailbox.