Those west of the Cascade Range have the darkest and richest-colored pelages. The color of the dorsal pelage ranges from dull grayish through brownish gray to dark sepia brow. The long-tailed vole usually is considered to be a medium-sized vole, although the size of an exceptionally large male may rival that of the largest Townsend's vole. ![]() Individuals in feral populations build nests of twigs and leaves in a log stump, or in the crouch of a tree. Feral populations of the species also inhabit wet coastal forests in some areas.īlack rats are agile climbers and accomplished wire-walkers. These rats are restricted largely to port cities and coastal regions in Oregon, where they are associated with human enterprises/ wharves piers dockside warehouses piles of crates, nets, traps and debris barns houses and waterfront stores. In Oregon, it has been found in Portland, Salem, and several smaller cities along the Coast. The pelage ranges from black to sandy brown dorsally and from lead colored to nearly white ventrally. ![]() It differs from the Norway rat in having a tail much longer than the length of its head and body and commonly having a darker-colored pelage. The black rat is similar to other members of the subfamily in that it possesses a scaly, scantily haired tail membranous, nearly naked ears, and a soft pelage. The black rat is slightly smaller than the Norway rat, but much larger than the house mouse, the only other members of the subfamily in Oregon. In rural areas, they reside in houses, barns, sheds, poultry coops, stables, granaries, silos, greenhouses, haystacks, woodpiles, refuse piles and almost any other type of structure in which livestock feed or foodstuffs for human consumption are stored or are available nearby. In urban areas, rats occupy houses, warehouses, stores, sewers, garbage dumps, and any other place that provides adequate shelter and a nearby source of food. The Norway rat nearly always resides near human activity. This rat is distributed throughout the world in association with humans and in Oregon is found in most of the counties west of the Cascade Range and from some counties along the Columbia River east of the Cascade Range. Albino, melanistic, and spotted specimens are known to occur in free-living populations. The pelage is course, a grizzled brownish or rusty gray dorsally and dirty white to yellowish gray ventrally. The ears are membranous and lightly furred. This heavy-bodied rat has a scantily haired, scaly tail shorter than the length of the head and body. The Norway rat is the largest member of the subfamily in Oregon. This woodrat is more active at night, but may be abroad during daylight hours. A central chamber is used for food storage and some houses have a latrine. Commonly, adjacent stick houses are connected by paths between ground level openings that lead to large central chambers through a maze of passageways. ![]() The dusky-footed woodrat constructs houses of sticks and other debris in trees or on the ground. In Oregon, this woodrat occurs from the California border northward along the coast to near Bandon, northward inland through the Willamette Valley and other interior valleys to near Mollala and Monmouth, and northward to Brownsboro, Jackson County, the Sprague River and Lake Albert south of the Cascade Range. Although variably in extent, a dusky splotch occurs on the dorsal surface of the white feet. The dorsal pelage consists of hairs with steel gray bases, a band of ocherous buff, and a tip of black. The dusky-footed woodrat is a medium-sized rat-like form with large, nearly naked ears, protruding eyes, and a long tail.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |