THE HARVEST MOUSE
Mus minutus, Pallas.
Mus minutus, Pallas,' Reise,’ vol. i., Append., p. 454 (1778); Bell, Lydekker, Sir H. Johnston.
Mus minimus, White, ‘ Nat. Hist. Selborne,’ p. 33 (1789).
Mus messorius, Kerr, ‘ Animal Kingdom,’ p. 23b (1792); Shaw, ‘ Gen. Zool.’ vol. ii. p. 62
C1801).
Mus minutus minimus, sub-species, Barrett-Hamilton, ‘ Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist.’ ser. vii.
vol. v. p. 528 (1900).
Local Names.—The Harvest Mouse (England); Llygoden y r § d (Welsh); Luch-fheoir1
(Scotch Gaelic).
Characters.—Next to the Lesser Shrew this is the smallest British mammal.
The head is narrow and the nose somewhat larger and blunter, comparatively
speaking, than in the other British mice. The tail, which is covered with short
hairs, and the ears are also relatively short. The general colour of the upper
parts is a yellow-red or orange-brown, being almost orange across the thighs,
where the colour is brightest. The under parts are pure white. Mr. J . E.
Halting, in describing the pelage of this mouse, say s : 2 ‘The bright sandy yellow
or orange-fawn of the upper part was purest and brightest towards the ta il;
being focussed (so to speak) on the hindquarters just at the root of the tail, and
extending underneath as far as the vent. This bright but delicate tint shades off
gradually, above, into the light yellowish or orange-brown, which is the prevailing
colour of the upper parts, the latter hue becoming again brighter and lighter as
it extends downwards to meet the white of the under parts. The fur of the cheeks
and that surrounding the ears is also bright sandy or orange; the hairs are nearly
always of that colour, varying, however, in intensity in different individuals.’ The
feet are naked on the soles and covered above with fine yellowish hairs. The
young are brownish-grey and not unlike young common mice, and two individuals
lately in my possession did not begin to assume the colour of the adults
until January.
1 This name and Luckag-flieoir are indiscriminately applied to any small rodent frequenting the grass, either on the
mainland or in the Hebrides, so that it must be taken more as a general term than one actually applied to this species.
2 Zoologist, November 1895, p. 420.