ELIOMYS OUERCINUS
Garden dormouse
  Classification Order Rodentia, family Gliridae

Description Reddish brown in colour on the back and off-white on the belly. The tail is black at its base and white to-wards the much thicker tip. A black stripe runs from the side of the snout, around the eye and behind the ear. The ears are large. Length of head and body 10-1 7 cm (4-6.7 in), tail g-1 2 cm (3.5-4.7 in): weight 50-120 g (1.8-4.2 oz).
  Distribution Europe except for Scandinavia, Ireland, England, and the coastal regions of the north, extending eastward past the Ural mountains; North Africa.

Habitat Broadleaf woodlands, sometimes also coniferous woods; parks and orchards.

Behaviour It lives at low altitudes, preferably in sunny areas. Although the dormouse is a good climber it more often moves about on the ground-normally only during the night. Gen-erally solitary, it may be found in small, very noisy groups. Its nest may be among stones on the ground or in natural hollows in trees. Dormice hibernate throughout the winter and mate on waking. The female gives birth to 2-7 young between the end of May and June, after a gestation period of about 20 days. It feeds on fruit and small animals and often enters houses in search of food.