Brush Mouse

Peromyscus boylii

Brush mice are nocturnal and active year-round. These mice are skilled climbers.  Nests are constructed with dry grasses and other vegetation and may be found in tree cavities and rock crevices, under logs and boulders.

Family:

 Cricetidae (New World rats and mice, voles, hamsters, and relatives)

Description:

Brush mice are a medium-sized mouse. The tail is usually longer than the head and body, bicolored (dark gray above and white below), well haired, and tufted at the end. The body fur is medium brown; sides lighter brown with a broad orange lateral line extending from cheek to hindquarters; underparts whitish; ankles dusky gray; and feet whitish below ankle.

Habitat:

This species of mouse can generally be found at elevations over 6500 feet where it inhabits is mostly chaparral, pinyon-juniper woodlands, and pine-oak forests .

Range:

The brush mouse is found in mountainous regions from northern California and western Nevada, eastward to western Texas and Oklahoma, and southward to central Mexico.

Diet:

Brush mice are omnivorous. Its diet varies and depends on the variation in the availability of food resources across seasons, years, and habitats. In California one researcher found that they fed extensively on acorns and conifer seeds in winter; insects in spring; manzanita berries and insects in summer; and acorns, conifer seeds, and fungi in fall.

Breeding:

Breeding in this species occurs throughout most of the year, although the majority of young are born in spring and early summer.  Following a gestation period of about 23 days, two to five young (average of three) are born; growth and development are rapid, and the young are weaned at three to four weeks of age; several litters are produced per year. 

mtm 2-7-21 ok