SHRE IV- MO USE 4 2 5 



upland meadows and lower snow-regions of the Alps, the Carpathians, and the 



Pyrenees, but are rare in the Carpathians and the Tyrolese Alps, where they have 



been driven up to the more inaccessible parts. 



The Alpine vole or snow-mouse (Mierotus nivalis) leads a life 

 Alpine Vole. x 



of which nothing was known for years. It was first discovered in 



1841, simultaneously on the St. Gothard and the Faulhorn. The total length 



from the nose to the tip of the tail is 6 inches, the tail measuring 3 inches. 



The colour is dark ash-grey above, lighter brown at the sides, the neck, lower 



part of the body, and legs being whitish, the feet whitish grey, and the long, 



closely growing whiskers black and white. The eyes are small, and the longish 



ears, rounded and more than a third the length of the head, are covered at 



the tip with reddish grey hair. The thick tail is tipped with longer hairs, and 



the hair of the body is close and soft. This vole, which is unknown below an 



altitude of 4000 feet, ranges to the boundary of perpetual snow, where it lives 



during a winter lasting from nine to ten months. In summer it finds sufficient 



food in the rich and plentiful vegetation of the higher Alps, which abounds 



in umbelliferous plants. The food of the species comprises the blossom of the 



Alpine avens, and its relatives the cinquefoils, as well as the leaves and roots 



of catchflies, chickweeds, gentians, arabis, saxifrage, and various kinds of clover. 



These are eaten by the vole while sitting up on its hind-legs and holding the 



food between its fore-paws, turning it round all the time. Not very active 



and by no means shy, it is best observed and caught towards the evening, 



when it may be seen out in the open or in the Alpine huts. In summer 



these voles have from two to three litters of from three to six young ones, 



which are brought forth in a nest of dry grass placed in the subterranean 



runs, between stones, or in a corner of a hut. In winter they neither breed 



nor hibernate, but live underneath the thick coating of snow, which keeps out 



the cold, the temperature in the runs not falling below freezing-point. The 



Alpine vole inhabits the mountains of Bavaria and the Tyrol, as well as the 



western Alps and the Pyrenees. 



Alpine shrew- The Alpine shrew-mouse (Sorex alpinus) is peculiar to the Alps. 



Mouse. j n length it measures 5£ inches, with a tail of about 2| inches ; 



and in colour is greyish black or dark grey, with a brownish tint above and paler 



below. It seems to inhabit the whole chain of the Alps, living in the forest 



region, chiefly in the upper and middle zone of pines, at an altitude of 7200 feet. 



Although no swimmer, it frequents the vicinity of water, and resembles in its 



habits the common shrew-mouse. 



., . _ . Our notice of the mammals of the Alps may be brought to 



Alpine Bat. . ... 



a close with the Alpine bat (PipistreUus savvi), which is dark 

 brown above, looking as if powdered with gold, and paler beneath. The two 

 terminal joints of the tail protrude beyond the web joining the hind-legs. In 

 length it measures 3£ inches, the tail being 1^ inches, and the wing-spread 

 9 inches. This species seems to inhabit the whole of the Alps to beyond the limit 

 of tree-growth, in higher regions than any other bat, though it probably winters 

 in a warmer climate. Flying quickly and erratically, it does not appear to mind 

 wind or warm rain. It comes forth in the evenings at dusk to fly in search of food 



