The Wood Mouse was @SpeciesofUK from 21st
to 27th October, 2013.
The wood
mouse is a rodent from the Muridae
family (mice, rats and gerbils). Muridae
is the largest mammal family in the world, containing over 700 species.[1]
 |
| Wood Mouse [Flickr Creative Commons © Isfugl] |
The wood
mouse can be found across Europe from Iceland to Ukraine. It's also native to
the northern coast of Africa in Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia.[2]
The wood mouse is the most common native rodent in
the UK.[3]
There are
four species of mice in the UK. Aside from the wood mouse, these are: the yellow-necked
mouse, harvest mouse, and house mouse. Of these, the yellow-necked mouse is the
wood mouse's closest relative.[4]
.jpg) |
| Yellow-necked Mouse [Wikimedia Commons © Vojtech.dostal] |
The wood
mouse is also known as the 'field mouse' because it has successfully colonised
cultivated fields which are now an important habitat for it.[5]
The wood
mouse is not present on many of the smaller British islands, and where it does
occur on islands it is usually the result of human introductions.[6]
Wood mice look adorable.
The wood
mouse has brown fur with a reddish tinge and a white or greyish belly.[7]
 |
| Wood Mouse [Flickr Creative Commons © S. Rae] |
The tail
of the wood mouse is roughly the same length as the head and body put together.
The wood mouse has attracted the alternative name 'long-tailed field mouse' as
a result.[8]
Wood nice
are usually only active at night. However males will sometimes be active for
short periods during the day, as will females when they are suckling young.[9]
 |
| Wood Mouse at Night [Flickr Creative Commons © bramblejungle] |
Like all UK
mouse species, wood mice don't hibernate. But during winter they sometimes
sleep together in groups to help keep warm and in severe cold they enter a
state of torpor.[10]
Here is a great little video all about wood mice:
Wood mice are omnivorous.
Wood mice
feed on seeds, invertebrates, fruits, nuts, seedlings, moss and fungi.[11]
Of these, seeds are the food of choice and it’s typically only in late
spring/early august that they eat small invertebrates like snails and insects.[12]
They often store food within their tunnel systems.[13]
Here is a video of a wood mouse collecting food from a garden:
The wood
mouse's liking for seeds has led them to become brave raiders of garden bird
feeders. They are excellent climbers.[14]
 |
| Wood Mice on a Bird Feeder [Flickr Creative Commons © Crowcombe Al] |
 |
| Wood Mouse on Bird Table [Flickr Creative Commons © Isfugl] |
As with
all mice, wood mice 'refect' their food, meaning they eat their own faeces
after they've digested the food once, so their system can better absorb
carbohydrates the second time round.[15]
Wood mouse predators include foxes, weasels, cats,
owls and kestrels.[16]
Wood mice
avoid predation in a number of clever ways.[17]
1) They
limit their foraging to covered microsites that are hard for larger animals to
enter.
 |
| Wood Mouse Foraging [Flickr Creative Commons © Emerging Birder] |
2) They
can make impressive, rapids leaps to safety when under threat.
 |
| Leaping Wood Mouse [Flickr Creative Commons © finnur.malmquist] |
3) When
in really dire straits, they can shed the end of their tail. It doesn’t grow
back.
Wood mice breed…lots!
The wood
mouse breeding season lasts from March to October and peaks between July and
August.[18]
Female
wood mice will defend their breeding range aggressively against other females.[19]
The nests are made in underground tunnels, inside hollow logs, nesting boxes or
in dense vegetation.[20]
 |
| Wood Mouse Nest [Flickr Creative Commons © Distant Hill Gardens] |
Wood
mouse gestation lasts for 25 or 26 days. The litter will contain between two
and nine young, born at night within the nest. An incredible four to seven
litters are produced each year![21]
To help
them fit in so many litters, female wood mice can conceive while still suckling
their previous litter.[22]
Wood mice
usually start breeding the year after they were born birth. But if they were
born early in the season, they can start breeding that very same year![23]
Strange but true…
Wood mice
produce ultrasound. It's usually the more dominant mice that produce them and it
may be used by males to pacify females before breeding.[24]
Because
wood mice are sensitive to ultrasound, it's sometimes used by the pest control
industry as a deterrent.[25]
 |
| Wood Mouse Whiskers [Flickr Creative Commons © Valter Jacinto] |
[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muridae
[2] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wood_mouse
[3] http://www.arkive.org/wood-mouse/apodemus-sylvaticus/
[4] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wood_mouse
[5] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wood_mouse
[6] http://www.arkive.org/wood-mouse/apodemus-sylvaticus/
[7] http://www.arkive.org/wood-mouse/apodemus-sylvaticus/
[8] http://www.arkive.org/wood-mouse/apodemus-sylvaticus/
[9] http://www.arkive.org/wood-mouse/apodemus-sylvaticus/
[10] http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20090219075006AAUgO4X;
http://www.arkive.org/wood-mouse/apodemus-sylvaticus/
[11] http://www.arkive.org/wood-mouse/apodemus-sylvaticus/
[12] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wood_mouse
[13] http://www.arkive.org/wood-mouse/apodemus-sylvaticus/
[14] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wood_mouse
[15] http://www.arkive.org/wood-mouse/apodemus-sylvaticus/
[16] http://www.arkive.org/wood-mouse/apodemus-sylvaticus/
[17] http://www.arkive.org/wood-mouse/apodemus-sylvaticus/;
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wood_mouse
[18] http://www.arkive.org/wood-mouse/apodemus-sylvaticus/
[19] http://www.arkive.org/wood-mouse/apodemus-sylvaticus/
[20] http://www.arkive.org/wood-mouse/apodemus-sylvaticus/
[21] http://www.arkive.org/wood-mouse/apodemus-sylvaticus/
[22] http://www.arkive.org/wood-mouse/apodemus-sylvaticus/
[23] http://www.arkive.org/wood-mouse/apodemus-sylvaticus/
[24] http://www.jstor.org/discover/10.2307/3543294?uid=3739864&uid=2&uid=4&uid=3739256&sid=21102809322321;
http://www.arkive.org/wood-mouse/apodemus-sylvaticus/
[25] http://conversation.which.co.uk/energy-home/humane-pest-control-for-mice-infestations-at-home/
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