FIELD GUIDE
NO.
011
House Mouse
Mus musculus
FAMILY: Muridae
ORDER: Rodentia
GENUS: Mus
AT A GLANCE
SIZE
2 1/4 – 4 inches
STATUS
Least concern
HABITAT
Homes, barns, sheds, farms, grasslands and other places near human settlement.
RANGE
Orginally native to parts of Asia, the House Mouse now lives alongside humans throughout most of the world.
DIET
Seeds, grains, fruits, roots, insects and almost any available food
SEASONS
Year-round
LIFE SPAN
Most live 12-18 months
WHAT TO NOTICE
– A small slender body covered in grayish-brown fur, with a lighter belly
– A pointed muzzle, rounded ears and small dark eyes
– A long nearly hairless tail covered in rings of scales
– Fine whiskers extending from the face used to examine objects and navigate dark, confined spaces.
– A tendency to follow edges, walls and other forms of cover rather than crossing exposed spaces.
HOW IT LIVES:
House Mice are most active after dark. They remain close to cover, following familiar pathways between their nests, food supplies and sources of water.
Smell is central to their world. Mice use scent to recognize family members, mark pathways, advertise reproductive readiness and establish social relationships. Their whiskers detect nearby objects, surface textures and subtle movements of air.
House Mice are omnivores. Although they are strongly associated with stored grain and human food, they also eat seeds, fruits, roots, insects and other small animals.
THE INTERESTING PART
The House Mouse did not merely invade human civilization. It grew alongside it.
Its close relationship with people began approximately 12,000–15,000 years ago, when humans started living for longer periods in permanent settlements. Stored food, shelter and the protected spaces around human dwellings created an entirely new ecological opportunity.
Much of their social world remains beyond the range of human hearing. Mice communicate through scent, audible squeaks and ultrasonic vocalizations. Male mice can produce complex ultrasonic songs during courtship.
WHERE I FOUND IT:
During a dousing summer rainstorm on Cape Cod, I was dashing back toward cover when I noticed a tiny mouse lying dead in the middle of the campground road.
I stopped in the rain and saw him not as a pest or an intrusion, but as a small, fully constructed animal. Delicate feet, whiskers, fur and ears had all belonged to a life lived mostly outside my awareness.
WORDS TO KNOW:
Commensal – An organism that lives in close association with another species and benefits from the relationship without necessarily helping or harming it. The word comes from Latin roots meaning “sharing a table.”.
Rodentia — The scientific order of mammals distinguished by a continuously growing pair of incisors in the upper and lower jaws.
Vibrissae — The specialized sensory hairs commonly called whiskers. They help a mouse perceive nearby objects, openings and textures.
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