BANK VOLE. Ill 



four inches in the Field Vole, but its tail is actually (not merely 

 proportionately) longer, being nearly half the length of head 

 and body, and ends in a pencil of hairs. The ears and feet are 

 proportionately larger, the former also being more oval than 

 round. It further differs from the other Voles in the fact that 

 the molar teeth become rooted in the jaws of the adults. The 

 fur of the upper parts is a bright chestnut-red or Vandyke brown, 

 excepting the hairy tail, which is black above. The under 

 parts, including the lower side of the tail, are whitish varying to 

 yellowish or even buff. The redder tint causes this species 

 frequently to be styled the Red Vole. It has pink lips, and 

 grey feet. Whiskers about an inch long. Black and albino 

 varieties have been recorded. 



It was considered formerly to be a rare British species, but 

 more discriminating attention to the smaller mammals in recent 

 years, and the wider adoption of trapping by naturalists, have 

 tended to modify that view. It is probably more local, but it 

 appears to be widely distributed, and to occur as far north 

 certainly as Moray and Elgin ; but it is not recorded from 

 Ireland, Man, Hebrides, or Shetland. A local race is found in 

 Skomer Island, and has been named E. skomerensis. When 

 Yarrell detected the Bank Vole as a distinct species in 1832, it 

 was considered to be of very restricted range in this country. 

 The discovery was made in Essex, but it was soon reported from 

 Hertfordshire, Middlesex, Berks, and Cambridge, and more 

 recently from Oxfordshire, Warwickshire, Shropshire, Worcester- 

 shire, the Lake District, Northumberland, Inverness, etc. It is 

 restricted to Europe in its wider range. In this country it does 

 not appear to occur at elevations of more than about 700 feet. 



The Bank Vole is much more agile than the Field Vole, and 

 not so much given to burrowing. It may be seen abroad in 

 sunny situations at any time of the day, preferring warm, dry 

 places, yet frequently to be found in wet places. It is a good 

 swimmer and diver. It constructs shallow runs in the earth of 



