Description:

A small mouse that is slightly smaller than the house mouse, with grayish to reddish-brown fur on top and whitish under parts. The tail is short-haired and bi-colored with darker fur on top and lighter fur underneath. The body is round and slender, with a large head and pointed snout with whiskers. The ears are large and round. The eyes are large and black. There are two forms, the woodland variety tends to have a longer body and tail as well as larger feet and ears than the prairie form.

 

Appearance:

They are from 4.5 to 8.5 inches in length (not including their tail, which ranges from 2 to 5 inches). They weigh up to 0.8 ounces. Males are roughly double the size of females.

 

Lifecycle:

Litter size averages 5 with multiple litters a year. The young stay with their mother for just over a month. Mating occurs year round, but is more frequent during warmer temperatures.

 

Habits:

Found in pretty much any habitat in NY, but most commonly in prairies, brush, and woodland. The prairie variety nests in burrows just below ground level. They are either dug by the mice themselves, or abandoned by other animals. The woodland variety builds theirs near the ground on stumps, in tree cavities, piles of debris, or in buildings. Woodland nests may be abandoned bird nests or made out of plant matter. They eat insects, fruits, vegetables, seeds, plants, various invertebrates, sometimes their own feces. They will often cache nuts in logs or nests for winter.