Peromyscus maniculatus, deer mouse

Deer mice are abundant throughout a wide variety of habitats ranging from arid open grasslands to the cool, moist, and shaded areas of floodplains. Typically they are not found in wetlands due to their inability to successfully compete with other more specialized relatives. They are prolific breeders; for they are also the favorite food choice of many omnivores and carnivores. They have a high metabolic rate and consume copious amounts of food in the form of plant material and insects in a given day. They are most apt to be found nesting in dens under logs, in protective hollows of brush, roots, and rocky crevices.