Birch mouse


Birch mice are small jumping rodents that resemble mice with a long tufted tail and very long hind legs, allowing for remarkable leaps. They are native to Eurasian forests and steppes. All variants possess a long tail of of length and weigh about. Head and body length of and hind foot length of. The skin color is light brown or dark-brown to brownish yellow on the upper side and paler on the underside, but generally brownish. Birch mice have a vast geographic distribution in that they inhabit a wide variety of habitats, from semiarid areas to subalpine meadows.

Species

There are 13 species listed in Mammal Species of the World.
All species of Sicista cluster into five major lineages: “betulina,” “caucasica,” “caudata,” “tianschanica,” and “concolor.”