SOME OBSERVATIONS UPON A FAMILY OF WHITE-FOOTED MICE 



By JAMES EDWARD ACKERT 



White-Footed mice (Peromyscus leucopus) are commonly 

 found both in the woods and in the open fields, though in the 

 latter they are not abundant. In the woods they make their 

 homes under decaying logs, or among the roots of trees, while, 

 in the fields, they live in underground tunnels. These mice are 

 about the size of House-mice, but may be distinguished by their 

 large prominent eyes and ears, and soft fur, which is grayish- 

 brown above the white below. 



The writer has recently had occasion to make dailv observa- 



WHITE-FOOTED MOUSE (FEMALE ) AND TWO SURVIVING YOUNG 



tions , for a period of four weeks, upon a family of White-Foot- 

 ed mice. His frequent visits to their nest have revealed some 

 interesting and characteristic habits of these little mammals. 



On March 25, 1910, while collecting salamanders near Cal- 

 houn, 111., an old White-Footed mouse with five naked little ones 

 was taken from a burrow on the bank of a pond. Three sala- 

 manders had been removed from this runway before the nest 

 was reached. The latter presented a dilapidated appearance. 

 Here and there a shivering little form and a fragment of dry 

 grass lay in the loose dirt. A few inches beyond, at the end of 

 the burrow, the frightened mother was caught. 



