Microtus californicus
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~20%
The California vole (Microtus californicus) is a type of vole which lives throughout much of California and part of southwestern Oregon. It is also known as the "California meadow mouse", a misnomer as this species is a vole, not a mouse. It averages 172 mm (6.8 in) in length although this length varies greatly between subspecies.
The California vole is a medium-sized vole, and a typical member of its group in appearance. Males range from 152 to 196 mm (6.0 to 7.7 in) in head-body length, with a 42 to 58 mm (1.7 to 2.3 in) tail. Females are significantly smaller at 149 to 182 mm (5.9 to 7.2 in) in length with a 38 to 53 mm (1.5 to 2.1 in) tail. Males weigh from 41 to 81 g (1.4 to 2.9 oz), and females from 36 to 63 g (1.3 to 2.2 oz). Variation between different subspecies, though, is considerable, with the southern subspecies tending to be larger than those found further north.
The body is covered with cinnamon to tawny olive fur, ticked with occasional darker hairs, and fading to a medium grey on the underside. The tail is black above and grey below. The whiskers and feet are grey in color, with a patch of white fur near the anus. Between subspecies, those native to... Wikipedia →
Recording0:13
United States · 2024
© Richard Hasegawa · iNaturalist · CC BY-NC 4.0
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|
More parks will be added in future updates.
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | San Francisco | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | Sacramento | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 3 | San Diego | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 4 | Los Angeles | 🇺🇸 United States |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a California Vole sighting in Los Angeles on a given day, based on 31 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 18th most-seen of the 33 mammals we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 10%, and over a week to about 20%, if each day is a fresh chance.
Any time of year
In every month with enough records, under 5% of wildlife watchers report a California Vole in Los Angeles on a given day, so our monthly data shows no clear season.
Between 9 am and noon
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most California Vole sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Among the best
Of the 4 cities where we can rate California Vole sightings, Los Angeles ranks 4th at under 5%, level with the leaders once rounded. The best odds are in San Francisco (United States, under 5%), Sacramento (United States, under 5%) and San Diego (United States, under 5%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the California Vole is recorded against all the mammals logged in Los Angeles (31 verified sightings), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
