Suburban Wildlife

I took this pic of a squirrel hanging upside and having a snack in the tree outside our front window. How the heck is that little critter holding on to that skinny little branch with just his toes? I had been watching him do death defying leaps as he ran around maniacally jumping from branch to branch to trunk to branch before he settled down to nibble on whatever it is he is nibbling. I'm thinking it's got to be pretty difficult to swallow when one is hanging upside down.