Externally, these squirrels often are indistinguishable from Sciurus and Ratufa, except that most of them are more brilliantly colored than Sciurus and smaller than Ratufa. Females have four or six mammae. These squirrels inhabit lowland and montane forests, cultivated areas, and gardens. They are diurnal and mainly arboreal. They live in hollow trees or construct nests of leaves and twigs in the branches of trees or large bushes.
Food includes fruits, nuts, seeds, buds, flowers, other vegetable matter, insects, and birds' eggs.
Ranges overlapped, but to a greater extent for males. Territoriality was not evident, and most encounters led to indifference, though there were occasional chases. Dominance hierarchies formed at an artificial feeding stand. Up to 17 males gathered near an estrous female and mated according to rank. Breeding occurred throughout the year, peaking in March-August.