What's the difference between dormice, voles, and other rodents?

Seen something small and furry dart by? Read our easy guide to the rodent species that call our canals and rivers home to identify dormice, voles, mice, and shrews.

A light brown dormouse with small, round ears, black eyes, and whiskers sits on a tree branch.

A dormouse perches on a tree branch.

Is a dormouse a mouse?

Despite their name and similar appearance, a dormouse is not actually a type of mouse.

Dormice are from the Gliridae family, whereas mice are Murids, a family that includes rats and gerbils. Both mice and dormice are rodents (Rodentia) and can be found along our canals and rivers.

The name 'dormouse' comes from the Latin for 'sleepy' – fitting for the creature that spends three-quarters of a year asleep.

A small dormouse curls itself in a ball, wrapping its tail around its head to keep warm as it hibernates in its nest.

Dormice are much more agile than other mice species and are rarely on the ground.

What species will you see along our canals and rivers?

Read on to learn the differences between the rodents that build their homes on our network.

Dormouse

Muscardinus avellanarius

The hazel dormouse is Britain's only native dormouse. Hibernating from October to April, dormice curl up in a ball, wrapping their tail around them at the base of a tree in a tightly woven nest to sleep.

Dormice have golden-brown fur, large black eyes, and a long, fluffy tail. They're much smaller than squirrels and many other rodents – and can stay well hidden in the undergrowth.

Lined by woodlands, hedgerows, and trees, our canals and rivers provide ideal nesting places for dormice. These rodents are important indicators of health and biodiversity, as they require plenty of insects, flowers, berries, and space to travel.

A dormouse with small, round ears and black eyes scampers up a tree branch.

Find out more about dormice

Read our guide to these small rodents and discover where they live, what they eat, and how they breed

Water vole

Arvicola amphibius

Water voles are sometimes called the 'water rat' or 'water dog', but they're not actually rats.

Not to be confused with its widespread cousin, the rat, the water vole is the largest British vole. They're water-loving creatures, similar looking to brown rats. Water voles have dark chestnut-brown fur with a blunt, round nose, short ears, and a furry tail.

Voles like rural areas with dense vegetation to protect them from the searching eyes of predators. They burrow into steep canals or riverside banks to build underground tunnels and nesting chambers. Voles build their burrows by biting into the earth with strong teeth.

These well-loved rodents are ecosystem engineers, managing the waterways by foraging and burrowing.

A water vole with brown fur stands on a log in the canal.

Our guide to water voles

Learn about the creatures popularised by 'Ratty' from The Wind in the Willows and how they're threatened by habitat loss

Brown rat

Rattus norvegicus

Brown rats are opportunistic eaters and can survive on a huge range of different foods.

The brown rat looks similar to a water vole, but can be identified by its grey-brown hair, pointed nose, hairless ears, and long tail. A highly adaptable creature, the brown rat lives across the UK in most habitats. All they require is food and shelter.

These rats are much bigger than the mouse species you'll find along our canals.

A small, furry brown water vole with short ears, small hands, and a hairless tail crawls through grass and leaves.

How to identify water voles and brown rats

Not sure whether it’s an endangered water vole or the larger brown rat? Read our guide to avoid a case of mistaken identity

Bank vole

Myodes glareolus

A small brown vole with a short, hairless tail and fluffy body perches on a thin branch with sloe berries.

Bank voles enjoy the likes of sloe berries, which grow along our canals.

Bank voles are small with chestnut-brown hair, a cream underbelly, and a short hairy tail. Like other voles, they have small eyes and a round snout. Unlike the water vole, the bank vole has large ears.

Bank voles are widespread in England and Wales. They burrow in grassy areas with thick vegetation for cover.

Canals and their banks provide suitable habitats with rich food sources, such as seeds and fruits. You might spot one along woodland edges or darting through the hedgerows.

Learn about bank voles

These speedy, reddish-brown creatures are our smallest voles, sometimes seen scurrying along our towpaths

Field mouse

Apodemus sylvaticus

Field mice – or wood mice, as they're also known – are highly adaptable rodents. Field mice prefer habitats with thick vegetation and rich food sources, from woodlands and farmland to grasslands and hedgerows

They're opportunistic creatures, feeding on the seeds, fruits, insects, and other small invertebrates they find along our canals.

Field mice have sandy brown fur with a greyish-white underbelly, a long tail, and large back feet. They have dark, protruding eyes with relatively large, rounded ears, a pointed snout, and long whiskers.

Nocturnal wood mice are partial to berries and nuts

Field mice may be secretive, but they're one of our most common rodents.

Harvest mouse

Micromys minutus

With a blunt nose and a tail almost as long as its body, harvest mice are small native rodents. They have golden-brown fur and short, round, hairy ears. These tiny creatures weigh as little as a two-pence coin.

Harvest mice prefer tall, dense vegetation such as reed beds, grassy fields, and hedgerows. Our canals provide an ideal environment with plenty of food sources, nesting materials, and cover from predators.

Water shrew

Neomys fodiens

Living throughout our inland waterways, water shrews are elusive and rarely seen. However, they are our largest shrew species – growing up to 10cm – and the only kind likely to be seen in water.

Although not technically rodents (they're actually insectivores like moles and hedgehogs), they bear a similar resemblance to many of the small brown creatures that stalk the undergrowth. Water shrews have dense and silky fur, often a dark grey or black colour, with a white underbelly and patches of white around the ears and eyes.

These semi-aquatic mammals like both fast- and slow-moving water, such as streams, rivers, ponds, and canals. Canal banks with abundant vegetation and a good supply of insects and other small prey make suitable habitats for water shrews.