Harvest mouse

Harvest mouse

Harvest mouse ©Amy Lewis

Harvest mouse

Enw gwyddonol: Micromys minutus
The harvest mouse is tiny - an adult can weigh as little as a 2p piece! It prefers habitats with long grass, but you are most likely to spot its round, woven-grass nests.

Species information

Ystadegau

Length: 5-7cm
Tail: 6cm
Weight: 4-6g
Average lifespan: 1.5 years

Statws cadwraethol

Protected from deliberate cruelty under the Wild Mammals Protection Act. Priority Species under the UK Post-2010 Biodiversity Framework.

Pryd i'w gweld

January to December

Ynghylch

The tiny harvest mouse lives in long tussocky grassland, reedbeds, hedgerows, farmland and around woodland edges. It is mainly vegetarian, eating seeds and fruits, but will also eat invertebrates. Harvest mice build a spherical nest of tightly woven grass, high-up in the tall grasses, in which the female will give birth to around six young.

Sut i'w hadnabod

The harvest mouse has pale, ginger or yellow fur, and a white belly. Its tail is almost hairless and nearly as long as its body.

Dosbarthiad

Found in England, south of Yorkshire.

Roeddech chi yn gwybod?

The harvest mouse is the only British mammal to have a prehensile tail: it can use it like a fifth limb, holding on to grass stems with it.