and thick, soft fur, somewhat thicker in winter than in summer. The upper part of the body is brown, sometimes with a yellow or red tinge; the under-parts range from white to cream coloured. It has a prehensile tail which is usually bicoloured and furless at the tip. The mouse's rather broad feet are adapted specifically for climbing, with a somewhat opposable, large outermost toe, allowing it to grip stems with each hindfoot and its tail, thus freeing the mouse's forepaws for food collection. Its tail is also used for balance. Ecology Habitat and distribution The harvest mouse is common in all east coast counties of England, reaching the North York Moors. It also inhabits less favourable habitats, such as woodlands and forests in the west. Harvest mice reside in a large variety of habitats, from hedgerows to railway banks. Harvest mice seem to have an affinity for all types of cereal heads, except for maize (Zea mays). Harvest mice typically like using monocotyledons for their nest-building, especially the common reed (Phragmites australis) and Siberian iris (Iris sibirica). Most harvest mice prefer wetlands for their nesting habitats. Harvest mice in Japan like making wintering nests near the ground from grasses that are dried, which indicates that they require vegetative cover in the winter, as well as in the warmer seasons. Grasslands with a mix of perennials and annual grasses are required to balance the increases in nesting periods and the mice's need to secure nutrients. Habitat selection might be the result of differences in the structure of the landscape of grasslands and wetlands in the area. Behaviour Harvest mice have a short lactation period of 15-16 days. They spend most of their life in long grass and other vegetation such as reedbeds, rushes, ditches, cereals and legumes. They are very skilled at climbing among grasses due to their tail. They grasp leaves and stems with their feet and tail, which leaves their hands free for other tasks. These tasks can include grooming and feeding. Harvest mice have a prehensile tail that functions as an extra limb during climbing. During the lactation period, the pups are able to climb a vertical bar by the time they first emerge from their nest. At 3-7 days they learn hand grasping, and at 6-9 days they learn food grasping. Between 6-11 days, they adopt a quadrupedal stance, and at 10-11 there is tail prehension,