Field Mouse, or Meadow Mouse, a small, stout-bodied rodent with short legs, small, rounded ears, a blunt snout, and a short, hairy tail. Field mice are not true mice but voles, relatives of muskrats and lemmings. There are more than 60 species of field mice, found throughout the Northern Hemisphere. Field mice eat grass, roots, seeds, grain, hay, vegetables, and the bark of trees. They are preyed upon by many animals, including shrews, foxes, snakes, hawks, and owls. A female field mouse produces several litters in a year; each litter has an average of four to six young.
Field mice form the genus Apodemus of the family Muridae and subfamily Microtinae. The most common field mouse in North America is the meadow vole, M. pennsylvanicus.