The cricetidae family.

Part one the Bank vole.

After the wood mouse the bank vole is probably the most abundant of Britain`s small rodents. It is more likely to be seen during daylight than the wood mouse, and tends to run and scurry rather than move in leaps and bounds. Although it may sometimes be found in long grass, wet places or on mountain sides, the bank vole much prefers to live where there is dense cover. It is rarely seen far from bramble thickets, hedgerows and other woody scrub, and is also common in country gardens. Each bank vole occupies a home range, and does not normally venture more than fifty five yards from its nest. Males generally range more widely than females. In mild years when there is plenty of food available, bank voles may begin breeding early and continue well into late Autumn. A vole born early in the year may its self be raising a family within a few weeks, so the population builds up quickly. There may be four or five litters, each with four or five babies between April and September. The nest is sometimes above ground, perhaps in a tree crevice but is more often found underground in Chambers that are reached by tunnels. Hazel nuts are their preferred food, the sharp toothed bank vole gnaws a whole in the shell and takes out the kernel in small pieces, but they will also eat berries, seeds, fruit, green plants and fungi. They will either store their food underground or find somewhere safe to eat it. But fewer than half of those born survive after the first few months. After the voles leave the nest at about eighteen days, young voles are preyed on by weasels and may die during cold wet weather. The more robust of voles may live for eighteen months. Bank voles live in the whole of England, Scotland and Wales and have only been found in Ireland since 1964. The bank vole can be distinguished from a mouse by its chubby appearance, blunt nose, small eyes and ears and short, furry tail. Adults have a glossy, chestnut-brown coat that may shade to grey on its belly. Their body is about three and a half inches long with a two and a half inch tail, and they have a redder coat and more prominent ears  than their cousin the field vole. Only about one ounce in weight, a bank vole can climb delicately amomg bramble stems and balance on a side shooy as it reaches out for a berry.

The muridae family.

Part two the yellow-necked mouse.

Not only does the yellow- necked mouse resemble a large,sandy coloured wood mouse, but it is very much like the wood mouse in its behaviour. Both mice are strictly nocturnal,with the big ears and eyes of creatures that need to pick up in the dark the faint sound or slight movement that warns them of approaching danger, and both climb well and often search for food among high branches. Both are found in woods, hedgerows and gardens. This seems to contradict a basic biological principle that no two animals can live in the same place and share the same food supply without one ultimately displacing the other. The yellow-necked mouse might be expected to become dominant as it is large, but it is the wood mouse that occurs over most of Britain. Yellow-necked mouse occur in the south, the welsh borders and in some parts of the midlands. Where they do occur, yellow necked mouse may increase to considerable numbers and then inexplicably disappear a year or two later. In parts of the south east, where yellow-necked mice can be quite common, they often go into peoples gardens and even their houses in autumn, perhaps seeking a dry,sheltered place for the winter. Yellow-necked mouse looks very much like a wood mouse, but it is distinguished by its distinct yellow collar, it is also bigger and heavier than the wood mouse,and its sandy brown coat has more orange on the flanks. In total the yellow-necked mouse is about four inched in length, with its tail being as long or longer again. Better climbers than the wood mouse, the yellow-necked mouse are more likely to be found in an attic, they may also be found at the top of a tree searching for new buds. The record they have been found at is ten meters. Like wood mice, yellow necked mice eat mainly seeds and fruit, such as acorns,hazel nuts and blackberries. In summer they also feed on insects and small animals such as snails and spiders. Their nest of grass and leaves is made underground within the burrow. There are five or more babies in a litter, they emerge from the nest when they are about eighteen days old. They rarely live for more that two years in the wild.