Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
The bank vole (Clethrionomys glareolus) is a small vole with red-brown fur and some grey patches, with a tail about half as long as its body. A rodent, it lives in woodland areas and is around 100 millimetres (3.9 in) in length. The bank vole is found in much of Europe and in northwestern Asia.
Northern red-backed voles live in a variety of northern forest and shrubland habitats. [2] [4] They occur in every major forest type in central Alaska. [5]Plant species commonly found in areas occupied by northern red-backed voles include black spruce (Picea mariana), white spruce (Picea glauca), quaking aspen (Populus tremuloides), paper birch (Betula papyrifera), alder (Alnus spp.), willow ...
The southern red-backed vole or Gapper's red-backed vole (Clethrionomys gapperi) is a small slender vole found in Canada and the northern United States.It is closely related to the western red-backed vole (Clethrionomys californius), which lives to the south and west of its range and which is less red with a less sharply bicolored tail.
The voles are active during both the day and night and their behaviour varies at different times of year. [6] They feed on both the underground and aerial parts of plants. Large stores of food are laid up before the winter and the energy intake of the voles seems to be correlated with the length of day. [7]
Eastern meadow voles eat most available species of grasses, sedges, and forbs, including many agricultural plant species. [5] [9] In summer and fall, grasses are cut into match-length sections to reach the succulent portions of the leaves and seedheads. Leaves, flowers, and fruits of forbs are also typical components of the summer diet.
In North America and most of Europe, voles predominate in the diet, and shrews are the second most common food choice. [24] In Ireland, the accidental introduction of the bank vole in the 1950s led to a major shift in the barn owl's diet: where their ranges overlap, the vole is now by far the largest prey item. [32]
Unlike other voles, prairie voles are generally monogamous. The prairie vole is a notable animal model for studying monogamous behavior and social bonding because male and female partners form lifelong pair bonds , huddle and groom each other, share nesting and pup-raising responsibilities, and generally show a high level of affiliate behavior.
The bank vole was probably introduced by humans at some time after the last glaciation. It is one of four small mammal species on Skomer. There are approximately 20,000 voles on the island. [1] The vole's main predators are owls, but it is also eaten by other predators, including common kestrel, common buzzard and peregrine falcon. [1]