Mice and Voles 



a globular nest, wherein it stores food against its 

 lengthened winter rest. Should it awake during the 

 colder months it, squirrel-like, dines on its secreted 

 provisions, and goes once more into slumber-land. The 

 Dormouse brings forth three or four young at a birth, 

 and these are born blind. In colour the youngsters 

 are greyish, but this hue soon gives place to a warmer 

 tint, and in the adult stage Dormice become pale 

 tawny-brown above and yellowish underneath. They 

 have rather pointed noses, with bright, prominent black 

 eyes, and rather large heads and ears. Including the 

 tail, the Dormouse measures about 6 inches. Its arms 

 are much shorter than its legs, and the thumb is 

 rudimentary. The animal uses its paws much in the 

 same fashion as the squirrel. A Dormouse in early 

 spring is a lanky-looking creature, its sleep of some 

 months usually consuming the fatty matter laid up by 

 the creature on its retirement from its woodland 

 activities in the preceding autumn. 



The Harvest Mouse is some 2^ inches in length, 

 and the tail, which is somewhat prehensile, is about 

 2 inches long. In colour the animal is of a pale, 

 warm brown over the back and white below. The 

 ears are broad and rather lengthy. By nature the 

 creature is a climber, and its paws are formed for this 

 purpose. It is quite an adept at scaling cornstalks, or 

 any stem capable of bearing the weight of its tiny 

 body. As a rule, the Harvest Mouse erects its nest 



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