335 



THE LONG-TAILED FIELD MOUSE. 



(Mus sylvaticus, Linn j M. domesticus medius, Ray.) 



Wood Mouse. Bean Mouse. 



This well-known species is distributed over almost the whole 

 of the temperate parts of Europe. 



It varies much in size, but usually the length of the head and 

 body is about two inches and three-quarters, and that of the 

 tail nearly two inches and a half. Not only the tail, but the 

 body, legs, ears, and whiskers are longer than those of the 

 common mouse ; its eyes, which are black and very prominent, 

 are larger, and its ears are broader. The whole of the upper 

 surface, and the sides of the head and body, are yellowish 

 brown, mixed with some dusky hairs j the under parts are 

 whitish, with a very slight greyish tint here and there, and a 

 yellowish grey patch on the breast. The tail, which consists of 

 about twenty-five vertebrae, is slender and tapering, covered 

 with short hair, brown above and white beneath. 



For its dwelling it generally avails itself of some small natural 

 excavations under the roots of trees, or of the deserted burrow 

 of the mole, and makes such repairs and alterations as may be 

 necessary. Frequently, however, its dwelling is entirely formed 

 by its own labour. " I do not know," says an old writer, " any 

 animal who builds a more commodious habitation under ground 

 than the field mouse, who scoops out several subterranean cells 

 having a free communication with one another."* 



It feeds on grain and plants, and hence, being a very abun- 

 * Spectacle de la Nature, or Nature Displayed. Lond. 1744, p. 214. 



