White-footed Mouse 



When their nests are beneath logs and woodpiles, they are 

 very like those of other mice, simple balls of soft grass lined 

 with feathers and thistledown. 



I have never seen the young white-footed mice before they 

 were about half grown, at which time they are of a dull, pale slate 

 colour. 



White-footed mice are largely nocturnal in their habits and as 

 a consequence have most to fear from the night hunters, the owls, 

 especially the little saw whet and the screech owl which are forever 

 taking them unaware. I am not sure that I have ever seen one of 

 these mice come out in the sunshine, but in cloudy weather you will 

 once in a while catch a glimpse of one; only the other day I saw 

 one dart into a hollow log as I approached. 



White-footed mice, like flying squirrels, are among the most 

 gentle and unsuspicious of living things and though armed with 

 long sharp teeth seldom offer any resistance when captured. 1 

 cannot recall ever hearing one squeak as other mice do, but 

 they have a sharp little call of their own and at times a low 

 chattering cry almost like the dim echo of a real squirrel's chatter. 

 In captivity they soon become tame and familiar and are always 

 ready to eat whatever is offered them without hesitation. 



Species and Varieties of White-footed Mice 



A vast number of species and varieties of these mice occur 

 in the United States, especially in the West. In the East we 

 have besides the red mouse (described further on) three groups 

 differing mainly in size. The Florida deer mouse (length 8.50 

 inches) and the oldfield mice (length 5 inches) are treated under 

 separate heads, but the remaining medium-sized species are so 

 closely related to the common white-footed mouse that they may 

 as well be treated together briefly and the foregoing sketch of 

 their habits, although based on numbers i and 2 of the following list, 

 applies pretty well to all. There are three distinct species of these 

 mice with several geographic varieties of each as follows: 



A. THE COMMON WHITE-FOOTED MICE 



Tail shorter than the head and body, without a decided 

 terminal pencil of hairs. Underparts of body white, the gray of 

 the hairs not perceptible unless the pelage is disturbed. 



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