Rodentia (Mice, Voles etc)

Larger than the UK’s native red squirrel, the grey squirrel has mainly grey fur on its upper body with flecks of brown hairs and a white underside. The percentage of grey/brown hairs can vary in the population and both dark melanistic and white albino colour forms occur in small numbers in Kent. The sexes are similar in size and appearance. Unlike the red squirrel the grey squirrel has no ear tufts.

A mature hazel dormouse has soft fine orange/yellow fur with a thick furry tail and large black eyes. The skin of the tail is thin and if gripped comes off, leaving the bones exposed. These quickly dry and drop off leaving the dormouse with a truncated tail. The hind feet can be rotated at the ankle, permitting the animal to hang head downwards.  

The bank vole has a chestnut brown coat, with breeding adults showing a redder tinge. The flanks are paler and the underside is whitish-cream. The muzzle is blunt and the ears are half hidden by fur. The tail is half the length of the body.

Often confused with the field vole, the bank vole has more prominent ears and a longer tail. The coat of the field vole is lighter and greyer without the reddish tinge.

Two melanistic bank voles were trapped during a small mammal survey that took place in West Blean woods in 2006. This is a rare colour variation within the species and is not often recorded.

The field vole has a greyish-brown coat and a creamy-grey underside with a greyer pelage in juveniles. Albinos and melanistic forms are rare but piebald animals with pale ear tufts are occasionally seen.

The field vole has small eyes and small ears that are almost totally hidden under its fur. It is similar in size to a bank vole, although males can be larger and are usually heavier than females. As a vole its nose is blunter than that of a mouse. The tail is only a third of its body length or less and it squeaks more readily when handled than the bank vole.

The field vole can be distinguished from the bank vole by the lack of chestnut or reddish colour in the coat, the shorter ears hidden under the fur and the shorter tail. Field voles can be distinguished from juvenile water voles by their smaller feet, shorter tail and paler coat colour.

Droppings and feeding signs may be confused with those of water voles as both species inhabit grassy river banks. However, signs of field voles are smaller.  

The water vole is the largest of the British vole species. Its coat is dark brown with a slightly lighter underside. The muzzle is blunt, the ears are hidden by a layer of fur and the tail has a covering of brown hair. The juvenile water vole has much larger feet in relation to its body size than the smaller field vole.  

The harvest mouse is Europe’s smallest rodent. It has a blunter more vole-like face than most mice, with relatively large eyes that do not bulge and small rounded, well-furred ears. The body fur is orange-brown and the chin, throat and underparts are white. The grey-brown tail is proportionately long and is prehensile, enabling the mouse to use it to grasp plant stems whilst climbing.  

The wood mouse has dark brown fur on the back with a greyish-white underside. There is a clear straight line where the two colours meet. It has a yellow chest spot which varies in shape and size but never meets with the brown fur of the back. Juveniles have a greyer pelage and paler chest spot than adults.

A mainly nocturnal species, it has protruding eyes and large ears. A tail as long as its body enables it to balance when climbing and jumping; the large hind feet assist with this.

Juveniles can be confused with the greyer house mouse but the wood mouse lacks the musty smell and has larger ears and feet. The house mouse does not have a clear line of demarcation between the dark dorsal and paler ventral fur colours.

Its fur colour and sparsely haired tail enable the wood mouse to be distinguished easily from the hazel dormouse, which has a bushy tail and a sandy-coloured coat.  

The yellow-necked mouse is about one and a half times larger than the wood mouse and has a more orangey-brown coat on the back with a whiter underside. A complete yellow throat collar joins with the brown fur on the shoulders and is a distinguishing feature separating it from the wood mouse. In juveniles the collar is greyer in colour but still visible.

It is mainly nocturnal having noticeably larger ears and protruding eyes than those of the wood mouse. Its tail, which is longer than its body, and larger hind feet make it a more adept climber than the wood mouse.

The house mouse has a greyish-brown pelage with a slightly lighter underside. It is active during the day and at night, but is primarily nocturnal. It has a pointed nose, prominent ears and large eyes. The tail is bald and approximately the length of the body.

It may be confused with a juvenile wood mouse or yellow-necked mouse but has slightly smaller eyes and ears. It also lacks a clear divide between the dorsal and ventral colours and has a characteristic musty smell.  

The common rat has greyish-brown fur and prominent eyes, a pointed muzzle and round ears. The bald tail is about as long as the head and body combined. It is larger than any mouse but can be confused with a water vole. However, there are physical differences between the two; the water vole has a blunt muzzle, hidden ears, a shorter hairier tail and a darker brown coat.

When swimming the water vole’s head, shoulders and rump remain above water, whereas the brown rat almost fully submerges itself with just its head and shoulders visible.