Sunday 4 May 2008

Field Mouse (Apodemus sylvaticus)

OTHER NAMES: Wood Mouse, Long-tailed Field Mouse, European Wood Mouse
Latin Etymology: Apodemus ("abroad in the country") sylvaticus ("of the woods")
Adult Field Mouse (Apodemus sylvaticus) at Geddington, Northants - April 2019

Featured Subspecies: unclear
Weight: 13-27g  /  Length: 8-10cm (not including tail)
IUCN Red List: Least Concern

While it might not be so famous as it's urban counterpart the house mouse, the field mouse is actually the most numerous mammal in the UK. As either it's name as wood or field mouse suggests, it is a creature of the countryside, although as this individual can attest, it will happily move into homes where they are near to it's natural habitats.  They can be identified by proportionally larger eyes and ears than the house mouse.  The UK is also home to a distinctive subspecies in the form of the St. Kilda Field Mouse, found only on that archipelago.

Related Species:
Order: Rodentia 
Family: Muridae 

Genus: Apodemus
SUBSPECIES: A. s. sylvaticus, A. s. hirtensis; a number of others but unable to find definitive list

 - Sighting Locations -
UNITED KINGDOM - An abundant resident.
 Seen in Geddington

Further Notes: BirdForum Opus, IUCN Red List, RSPB, Wikipedia, Xeno-canto

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