112 ANIMAL LIFE OF THE BRITISH ISLES. 



a roadside bank or hedgebank. These have many entrances 

 and exits above and below, as shown in our photograph ; some 

 of the passages connecting with the top of the bank, others 

 enlarging into blind chambers. Its food includes herbage, 

 roots, bulbs, fruits, and seeds ; it appears to be particularly 

 fond of turnips. In spring it has been observed climbing rose 

 and hawthorn bushes in order to nibble the new leaves, and in 

 autumn to obtain the hips and haws. It also seeks nuts, 

 berries, the grain of wheat and barley, and the seeds of smaller 

 grasses. Insects, snails, and even small birds are eaten by it, 

 and the entrance to its burrows frequently gives evidence of the 

 variety of its food. It has been known to eat the unpalatable 

 Shrew that it has killed, and even to given way to cannibalism. 

 In Scotland it is accused of eating the shoot-buds of young 

 conifers, especially of larch, and gnawing the bark from 

 branches. 



In this country it is occasionally captured in the act of 

 robbing household stores, but in more northern regions, as in 

 Norway and the Yukon, it is a constant inhabitant of houses. 

 It is not one of the hibernating species, therefore as a rule it 

 does not lay up stores ; but Mr. Douglas English records the 

 digging up of five Bank Voles with a store of ninety-three 

 sound cob-nuts. 



There are several litters of three to six naked and blind young 

 during the year, produced in nests of grass, moss and wool, or 

 feathers, usually placed above ground, sometimes in a bird's 

 nest at some height above it. The males are very quarrelsome, 

 and when fighting or pairing are very vocal, indulging in 

 grunting squeaks. 



Three geographical races or sub-species have been recognised 

 by Barrett- Hamilton as distinct species under distinct names. 

 These are Skomer Bank Vole (Evotomys skomerensis) from 

 Skomer Island, off Pembroke ; Alston's Bank Vole (E. alstoni) 



