Montana Field Guide

The southern red-backed vole has a blunt nose and short ears. It is approximately 6 inches (152 millimeters) long when fully grown. It has buffy gray sides, and a buff-white to silver-gray belly. The wide reddish band which distinguishes it from other mice in Montana traces over its back from the forehead to the base of a short tail.

The distinctive band down the center of the southern red-backed vole's back may be bright chestnut to yellowish brown, rather than reddish brown. Two colors can be seen along the tail, and the head and ears are larger than those of other voles (Zeveloff and Collett 1988).

Non-migratory.

In W MT particularly common in dense subalpine forests, also occurs in more open forest types, even alpine tundra (Hoffmann and Pattie 1968).

Vegetative portions of plants, nuts, seeds, berries, mosses, lichens, ferns, fungi & arthropods.

A favored prey of marten in NW MT. Populations fluctuate. Typically does not construct runways. Simple globular nests (75-100 mm. diam.), lined w/ grass, stems, leaves or moss.

Females. Sexually mature at 2 months. Litters born late winter - late autumn. Young are free living at 18 days of age (Jones et al. 1983).