226 GNAWING ANIMALS 



DORMOUSE (Muscardinus avellanarius). 

 Plate XXIV. Fig. i. 



Although belonging to another family we will here con- 

 sider the Common Dormouse, rather an elegant little animal 

 only two and a half inches in length, with a bushy tail 

 quite as long. It is not a true mouse, but appears 

 to be about intermediate between the squirrels and the 

 mice, with a nearer affinity to the former. It is confined 

 to the temperate and colder regions of the Old World, 

 and, for example, is not found in Southern Europe. 



In body it is plumper than the common mouse, and 

 its nose is less acute. Its coat is mainly reddish brown ; 

 it is lighter underneath and almost white on the throat. 

 Its tail is more hairy as it approaches the tip. 



The Dormouse inhabits woods or thick hedges, making 

 a nest of woven grass in the hollows of tree-trunks or 

 near the roots of close shrubs. Instead of being diurnal 

 like the squirrel, the Dormouse is nocturnal. It eats nuts 

 and seeds, although it does not disdain an insect that 

 comes its way. It is particularly fond of hazel nuts, 

 extracting the kernels without removing them from the 

 stems or even from their cups. Hence the name ' Hazel- 

 mouse ' which the animal bears in Germany. 



As winter approaches the Dormouse commences to 

 collect a store of nuts, acorns, &c., to serve it when it 

 wakes at intervals in its long sleep. With the arrival of the 

 cold weather it rolls itself up in its winter nest and falls 

 into a lethargic state. Both summer and winter nests 

 are frequently found, to the number of a dozen or more, in 

 the same thicket. 



A larger European specimen is the Loir, or Fat Dor- 

 mouse (Myoxus glis), with its habitat in the Southern 

 countries and extending into Asia. It attains a length of 

 six inches with a tail three-quarters as long. It is said 

 to add small birds and smaller animals than itself to its 

 professedly vegetable diet. The Loir is eaten by the 

 Italians, only following the old Roman epicures, who 

 specially fattened the little animal for the table. 



