Lake Maxinknckee, Physical and Biological Survey 461 



(the Common White-footed Mouse) by its smaller size, smaller 

 ears and feet, and shorter tail, the tail being more thickly hairy 

 and more sharply bicolor. The adult is yellowish-brown, with a 

 sooty dorsal band; belly white; feet not quite white; tail bicolor. 

 Length 4- inches, tail 1 inches. 



16. COMMON WHITE-FOOTED MOUSE; DEER MOUSE 



PEROMYSCUS LEUCOPUS NOVEBORACENSIS (Fischer) 



This is the common wild mouse of Indiana. At Maxinkuckee 

 it is abundant not only in the fields and woods but also about the 

 cottages around the lake. Any old pile of wood, boards, logs or 

 brush, stack of straw or hay, or shock of fodder, is almost sure to 

 contain at least one family of these beautiful and interesting little 

 animals. They may also be found in almost any old dead tree, 

 whether in open woods or dense forest, in which there are natural 

 hollows or deserted woodpecker holes. 



Several examples were trapped in July at the cottage occupied 

 by us on Long Point. A male was captured October 20, 1906, at 

 the pond below Farrar's woods. 



These mice feed largely upon beechnuts of which they often 

 store up considerable quantities for winter use. We have on vari- 

 ous occasions found more than a pint of beechnuts stored in a hole 

 in some old tree, evidently by these mice. They do not hibernate, 

 but remain quite active during even the most severe winters. 

 Their tracks may be seen in abundance in the snow. They also 

 feed on small snails and other small, delicate mollusks such as 

 Physa, LimnaBa and SphaBrium. We have frequently found shells, 

 with the apex bitten off, in and about the nests of these mice. 



They breed probably several times each season, as we have seen 

 young as early as March and as late as November. Th number 

 of young produced in a litter ranges from four to six. We have 

 frequently caught old females with the young hanging to the teats 

 and carried them many rods before the young dropped off. 



On two occasions when one of us put a shrew (Blarina brevi- 

 cauda) in a box with a Deer Mouse the shrew killed and ate the 

 mouse. 



The Deer Mouse is readily distinguished from related species. 

 It attains a length 6.5 inches including the tail which is 3 to 3.25 

 inches long. In color it is yellowish brown, grayish, or fawn- 

 color ; belly and feet pure white ; tail less distinctly bicolor than in 

 the Michigan White-footed Mouse. 



