wood mouse

The wood mouse, known scientifically as genus Apodemus, is a small burrowing rodent that is native to Europe and Africa. The equivalent mouse species common to the Southwestern U.S. and northern Mexico is commonly referred to as the desert pocket mouse (genus Chaetodipus), whose preferred habitat is sandy, sparsely vegetated desert environments. It is primarily nocturnal and solitary, and burrows in small apertures in the ground for purposes of refuge, seed storage, and to care for its young.