Almost all rodents, which include mice, can dig the ground, since in the warmer months they mainly live in earthen minks in the fields or in the forest.
House mouse
The largest variety of mice that dig the earth is the house mouse, which is distributed almost everywhere in human habitats. The presence of a house mouse was not observed only in areas with very low air temperatures and at high altitudes in the mountains.
Due to the ubiquity of distribution, the house mouse is considered an almost cosmopolitan species. All known subspecies of the house mouse, and today there are about 150 subspecies, are combined into 4 main subspecies depending on the habitat.
Mice lifestyle
Species of mice that dig the earth belong to the class of mammals, have small body sizes - from 6 to 9 cm, soft dark gray or brown fur. House mice prefer to settle in human habitats. In the northern regions, where there are quite severe winters, in the autumn there is a massive movement of rodents to places of human habitation, especially to buildings with fodder reserves - food, hay, and animal feed. In suitable places, animals arrange peculiar nests, where they wait for the cold.
With the onset of heat, mice return to "field" conditions - to forests, fields and other natural objects, where they dig their minks in the ground or other places suitable for living. Burrows usually dig simple, not more than 1 m in length, and end with an enlarged nesting room.
Other types of mice
There are also other species of mice that dig the earth. These are field and forest mice, yellow and steppe parsley, several species of voles and earthen rat. All types of mice feed on a wide variety of foods. In nature, they eat tree bark, young shoots of plants, buds and sweet roots. Many mice eat nuts and wild berries. Settling next to humans, mice also exhibit omnivorous tendencies. They can eat a wide variety of foods, ranging from meat and dairy to soap, candles, paper and skin. Some species of mice that dig the ground are listed in the Red Book, such as the yellow-necked mouse, which has a bright red color of fur with a yellow stripe around the neck and large ears.
There are several more rare species of mice with a limited halo of habitat. For example, false mice live in Australia, some of which are also listed in the Red Book. In a small part of Eurasia, mouse mice live. As can be seen in the photo, the variety of mice is impressive. Such a small animal of all mice is the smallest. The body length of adults does not exceed 5 cm. Striped mice live exclusively in Africa. Several subspecies of striped mice are known - Angolan, Senegalese and Barbarian.