European Wood Mouse

European Wood Mouse

Apodemus sylvaticus

Silhouette: Anthony Caravaggi · PhyloPic

LCLeast ConcernNTVUENCR
Daily sighting probability <5% · Rare
at Prague

In 3 days ~10% in a week ~20%

6 Verified sightings at Prague
43 In all 4 parks From 2019 to 2026
December Best month
☀️🌙 Day & Night When it's spotted

About the European Wood Mouse

The wood mouse (Apodemus sylvaticus) is a murid rodent native to Europe and northwestern Africa. It is closely related to the yellow-necked mouse (A. flavicollis) but differs in that it has no band of yellow fur around the neck, has slightly smaller ears, and is usually slightly smaller overall: around 90 mm (3.54 in) in length and 23 g in weight. It is found across most of Europe and is a very common and widespread species, is commensal with people and is sometimes considered a pest. Other common names are long-tailed field mouse, field mouse, common field mouse, and European wood mouse. This species is a known potential carrier of the Dobrava sequence of hantavirus which affects humans and may pose serious risks to human health.

Wood mice inhabit forests, grasslands, and cultivated fields, tending to seek out more wooded areas in winter. Almost entirely nocturnal and terrestrial, wood mice burrow extensively, build nests of plants and live in buildings during harsh seasons. It is one of the most intensively studied species in the genus. In Europe, it ranges north to Scandinavia and east to Ukraine. The wood mouse is also found in northwestern Africa... Wikipedia →

Global Distribution

Parks Where Found

# Park Country Daily sighting probability
1 Snowdonia National Park 🇬🇧 United Kingdom
~20%
2 Cairngorms National Park 🇬🇧 United Kingdom
~20%
3 Pyrénées National Park 🇫🇷 France
~10%
4 Sierra de Guadarrama National Park 🇪🇸 Spain
<5%

Cities Where Found

# City Country Daily sighting probability
1 Manchester 🇬🇧 United Kingdom
~10%
2 Liverpool 🇬🇧 United Kingdom
~10%
3 Birmingham 🇬🇧 United Kingdom
~10%
4 Leeds 🇬🇧 United Kingdom
~10%
5 London 🇬🇧 United Kingdom
~10%
6 Cologne 🇩🇪 Germany
~10%
7 Brussels 🇧🇪 Belgium
~10%
8 Dublin 🇮🇪 Ireland
~10%
9 Paris 🇫🇷 France
~10%
10 Amsterdam 🇳🇱 Netherlands
~10%

Zoos & Centres Where Found

# Zoo / Centre Country
1 Budapest Zoo & Botanical Garden 🇭🇺 Hungary In captivity
2 British Wildlife Centre 🇬🇧 United Kingdom In captivity

Before you go

What are the chances of seeing a European Wood Mouse in Prague?

Rare

Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a European Wood Mouse sighting in Prague on a given day, based on 6 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 16th most-seen of the 18 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.

When is the best time to see a European Wood Mouse in Prague?

May, July–August and December

In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a European Wood Mouse in Prague on a given day, against under 5% in January–April, June and September–November, the lowest months.

What time of day is best to see a European Wood Mouse?

Between 10 am and 1 pm

Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most European Wood Mouse sightings with a recorded time, and about 6 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is seen both by day and at night.

Is Prague the best place to see a European Wood Mouse?

14th of 15

Of the 15 cities where we can rate European Wood Mouse sightings, Prague ranks 14th at under 5%. The best odds are in Manchester (United Kingdom, about 10%), Liverpool (United Kingdom, about 10%) and Birmingham (United Kingdom, about 10%).

Where does the European Wood Mouse sighting chance come from?

GBIF citizen-science records

It is estimated from how often the European Wood Mouse is recorded against all the mammals logged in Prague (6 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.

← Back to Prague