BRITISH MAMMALS 



Order RODENTIA 



Family MURIDiE. 



Sub- Family Murinae. 



Genus Mus. 



THE HARVEST MOUSE. 



Mtis minutus, Pallas. 



Plate 26. 



The Harvest Mouse has several characteristic features which dis- 

 tinguish it from the rest of the genus. It is by far the smallest and 

 also the brightest in colour of our mice, measuring in length of head and 

 body from 2\ to about 2\ inches, the tail being about 2\ inches long. 

 The slim and deHcate form, rather blunt nose, short and rounded ears 

 and small eyes, as well as the faculty it possesses of grasping things with 

 the tail, all serve to distinguish this species. 



In colour the upper parts are chiefly golden brown, blending into a 

 tawny orange tint about the region of the tail. The under parts are 

 white, with the dividing line well defined. 



The young are duller in colour, which is usually described as re- 

 sembling that of the House Mouse, but one I have seen in early autumn 

 was more or less of a sandy buff. 



The Harvest Mouse inhabits the greater part of Continental Europe, 

 but is not known south of the Pyrenees nor farther north than Finland. 

 Eastwards it reaches China and Japan. 



II. 



