This selection of Irish animals, native or introduced, is taken from the Appletree Press title Animals of Ireland. There will be a number of extracts from the book in coming months. The book contains highly detailed full colour illustrations to complement the detailed explanatory text.

House Mouse
Mus musculus
Luch thi

Nowadays no warehouse, farm complex, old building or ruin would be complete without its mice in residence. They are abundant too in granaries and fields with stored hay or cereals. With the first cold weather of the winter House mice enter houses they do not normally occupy and wreak havoc for a period until they can be arrested – dead or alive. They are notorious disease carriers and can eat their way into apparently 'mouse-proof' drawers, cupboards and boxes. Highly communal, House mice construct nests of any available material in which six or more litters of up to six young are reared throughout the year.

The animal itself is unmistakable, with its greyish upperparts and silvery underparts, though variations do occur including a sandy brown type – on the Bull Island, Dublin. The eyes and ears are less prominent than those of the Wood mouse and the tail in the adult is generally stouter than that of the latter. The overall length is 16 cm (6.5 inches) including tail.

Other Small Mammals from Animals of Ireland include:
Bank Vole |
Brown Rat |
Grey Squirrel |
Hedgehog |
Pigmy Shrew |
Red Squirrel |
Wood Mouse |