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MOUSE , in its See also:original sense probably the name of the semi-domesticated See also:house-mouse (See also:Mus musculus), the type of the genus Mus and of the See also:family Muridae. Zoologically, there is no distinction between mice and rats; these names being employed respectively for most or all of the smaller and larger " mouse-like " and " See also:rat-like " representatives of the Muridae, whether they belong to the genus Mus or not. It is true indeed that in zoological nomenclature some of these are distinguished as " voles " (see See also:VOLE), but this is not in See also:accord with popular usage, where such creatures come under the designation either of See also:water-rats or See also:- FIELD (a word common to many West German languages, cf. Ger. Feld, Dutch veld, possibly cognate with O.E. f olde, the earth, and ultimately with root of the Gr. irAaror, broad)
- FIELD, CYRUS WEST (1819-1892)
- FIELD, DAVID DUDLEY (18o5-1894)
- FIELD, EUGENE (1850-1895)
- FIELD, FREDERICK (18o1—1885)
- FIELD, HENRY MARTYN (1822-1907)
- FIELD, JOHN (1782—1837)
- FIELD, MARSHALL (183 1906)
- FIELD, NATHAN (1587—1633)
- FIELD, STEPHEN JOHNSON (1816-1899)
- FIELD, WILLIAM VENTRIS FIELD, BARON (1813-1907)
field-mice. The distinctive characters of the typical mice (and rats), i.e. those included in the genus Mus, are dealt with in the See also:article See also:RODENTIA. With the exception of See also:Madagascar, the genus Mus ranges over practically the whole of the Old See also:World, having indigenous representatives even in See also:Australasia; while the house-mouse, with See also:man's involuntary aid, has succeeded in establishing itself throughout the civilized world. The following is a brief See also:notice of the See also:species of true mice (that is to say, those generally included in the genus Mus) inhabiting the See also:British Isles. These are three in number. M. musculus, the house-mouse, originally a native of Central See also:Asia, has spread to all the inhabited parts of the globe. M. sylvaticus, the See also:wood or See also:long-tailed field-mouse, is a species See also:common in many parts of See also:England, often taking to barns and out-houses for shelter during the See also:winter. It is of about the same See also:size and See also:pro-portions as M. musculus, but of a See also:bright reddish-See also:grey See also:colour, with a pure See also:- WHITE
- WHITE, ANDREW DICKSON (1832– )
- WHITE, GILBERT (1720–1793)
- WHITE, HENRY KIRKE (1785-1806)
- WHITE, HUGH LAWSON (1773-1840)
- WHITE, JOSEPH BLANCO (1775-1841)
- WHITE, RICHARD GRANT (1822-1885)
- WHITE, ROBERT (1645-1704)
- WHITE, SIR GEORGE STUART (1835– )
- WHITE, SIR THOMAS (1492-1567)
- WHITE, SIR WILLIAM ARTHUR (1824--1891)
- WHITE, SIR WILLIAM HENRY (1845– )
- WHITE, THOMAS (1628-1698)
- WHITE, THOMAS (c. 1550-1624)
white belly. M. minutes, the See also:harvest-mouse, is the smallest of the See also:European mice, seldom exceeding 22 or 3 in. in length; and of a yellowish-red colour, with comparatively See also:short ears and tail. It lives entirely away from houses, commonly taking up its See also:abode in See also:wheat or See also:hay See also:fields, where it builds a See also:round grass See also:nest about the size of a See also:cricket-See also:ball, in which it brings up its See also:young. Its range extends from England to See also:Japan. In regard to the first it is noteworthy that house-mice isolated on a small sandbank near See also:Dublin have See also:developed a See also:special colouring of their own; also that distinct See also:local varieties, M. musculus muralis and M. m. faeroensis, inhabit respectively St Kilda and the Faeroes. In Central Asia there exists a See also:wild mouse (M. bactrianus), and likewise a second species (M. wagneri), with the habits of a house-mouse, both of which are closely allied to M. musculus; while there is a third See also:kind (M. gentilis), also nearly related, in the deserts of See also:North See also:Africa. According to See also:Major G. E. H. See also:Barrett-See also:- HAMILTON
- HAMILTON (GRAND or ASHUANIPI)
- HAMILTON, ALEXANDER (1757-1804)
- HAMILTON, ANTHONY, or ANTOINE (1646-1720)
- HAMILTON, ELIZABETH (1758–1816)
- HAMILTON, EMMA, LADY (c. 1765-1815)
- HAMILTON, JAMES (1769-1831)
- HAMILTON, JAMES HAMILTON, 1ST DUKE OF (1606-1649)
- HAMILTON, JOHN (c. 1511–1571)
- HAMILTON, MARQUESSES AND DUKES OF
- HAMILTON, PATRICK (1504-1528)
- HAMILTON, ROBERT (1743-1829)
- HAMILTON, SIR WILLIAM
- HAMILTON, SIR WILLIAM (1730-1803)
- HAMILTON, SIR WILLIAM ROWAN (1805-1865)
- HAMILTON, THOMAS (1789-1842)
- HAMILTON, WILLIAM (1704-1754)
- HAMILTON, WILLIAM GERARD (1729-1796)
Hamilton it is probable that M. bactrianus and M. musculus are respectively See also:desert and house modifications descended from some Central Asian ancestor more or less nearly allied to M. wagneri. As regards the other two British species, it must suffice to say that there are several local races of each; Mus sylvaticus being represented by several in the British Isles, although there is but one British representative of M. minutus. It may be added that by some naturalists both M. sylvaticus and M. minutus are separated from Mus as Micromys.
See G. E. H. Barrett–Hamilton, " See also:Note on the Harvest-Mice of the Palaearctic Region," See also:Annals and See also:Magazine of Nat. See also:History (See also:April 1899) ; " On the Species of the genus Mus inhabiting St Kilda," Proc. Zool. See also:Soc. (See also:London, 1899) ; " On See also:Geographical and Individual Variation in Ivius sylvaticus and its See also:Allies," op. cit. (1900) ; W. E. See also:- CLARKE, ADAM (1762?—1832)
- CLARKE, CHARLES COWDEN (1787-1877)
- CLARKE, EDWARD DANIEL (1769–1822)
- CLARKE, JAMES FREEMAN (1810–1888)
- CLARKE, JOHN SLEEPER (1833–1899)
- CLARKE, MARCUS ANDREW HISLOP (1846–1881)
- CLARKE, MARY ANNE (c.1776–1852)
- CLARKE, SAMUEL (1675–1729)
- CLARKE, SIR ANDREW (1824-1902)
- CLARKE, SIR EDWARD GEORGE (1841– )
- CLARKE, THOMAS SHIELDS (1866- )
- CLARKE, WILLIAM BRANWHITE (1798-1878)
Clarke, " On Forms of Mus musculus, with Description of a New Subspecies from the See also:Faeroe Islands," Proc. See also:Roy. Phys. Soc. (See also:Edinburgh, 1904), vol. xv. (R. L.*)
MOUSE-See also:BIRD (Du. Muisvogel), the name by which in Cape See also:Colony and See also:Natal the members of the genus Colius of M. J. See also:Brisson are known—probably from their singular See also:habit of creeping along the boughs of trees with the whole See also:tarsus applied to the See also:branch. By the earlier systematists, Colius was placed among the Fringillidae; but the investigations of J. Murie and A. H. Garrod on its See also:internal structure showed that it was not a true Passerine, and it is now placed in a See also:separate family, Coliidae, amongst Coraciiform birds, near the trogons and swifts (q.v.). The Coliidae are small birds, with a rather
Mouse-Bird.
See also:finch-like See also:bill, a more or less crested See also:head, a very long tail, and generally of a dun or See also:slate-coloured plumage that sometimes brightens into See also:blue or is pleasingly diversified with white or See also:chestnut. They feed almost wholly on fruits, but occasionally take See also:insects, in quest of which they pass in bands of fifteen or twenty from See also:- TREE (0. Eng. treo, treow, cf. Dan. tree, Swed. Odd, tree, trd, timber; allied forms are found in Russ. drevo, Gr. opus, oak, and 36pv, spear, Welsh derw, Irish darog, oak, and Skr. dare, wood)
- TREE, SIR HERBERT BEERBOHM (1853- )
tree to tree. Seven species are believed to exist, all belonging to the Ethiopian region (of which the Family is one of the most characteristic), and ranging from See also:Abyssinia southwards. Three species inhabit Cape Colony. (A.
End of Article: MOUSE
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