Reithrodontomys megalotis, western harvest mouse


Description

Color, unworn winter pelage: upper parts mixed blackish brown and light ochraceous-buff, darkest in middle of back, shading to nearly pure buff on sides; feet and underparts white; tail hair-brown above, whitish below; ears drab, usually with a tuft of ochraceous-buff hairs at base. Unworn summer pelage: Similar to the fresh winter pelage, but colors less strongly contrasted and black variations of upper parts much reduced. Worn spring and summer pelage: General tone browner and colors less contrasted than in the winter pelage, the buff on sides less pronounced and often lacking.


Image Source - http://www.funkman.org/animal/mammal/deermouse.jpg

Habits

The food of the harvest mouse consists mostly of seeds, grain, green vegetation, and some fruit. They are pre-eminently field mice. Practically all the known species live in more or less open, grassy situations and are partial to neglected fields, with grasses or sedges and to weedy and grassy borders of cultivated tracts. Some species, and perhaps all, construct substantial nests of grasses, often lined with soft materials and placed either on the ground or in vines, bushes, or low trees some distance above the ground. All species live chiefly above ground, but burrows are also used.

Barnes, Claude T. Mammals of Utah, Pgs. 67-69, Bulletin of the University of Utah Inland Printing Company, Kaysville, Utah