How to tell the difference between a water vole and a brown rat

Have you seen a flash of brown fur and are not sure whether it’s an endangered water vole or the larger brown rat? Read our guide to avoid a case of mistaken identity.

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

Water voles manage waterway ecosystems by foraging and burrowing to increase biodiversity.

Identifying water voles and rats

While both are often found swimming in water, voles and rats are separate species from different families. Although regularly mistaken for a rat (thanks to 'Ratty' from The Wind in the Willows, who is actually a water vole), voles are smaller with rounded faces and bodies. Water voles have shorter tails and chestnut-coloured fur, unlike the brown rat.

Water voles also have smaller ears that sit close to the head. Rats have prominent pink ears.

A brown rat with light hair, a pointed fact, and pink legs crouches in shallow water.

The brown rat is the most common and widespread of the rat family in the UK.

Differences in behaviour

Water voles (pictured left) and brown rats (pictured right) are both strong swimmers. However, water voles are identified by their dive. With a distinctive 'plop' sound, water voles dive into the water when alarmed.

A brown rat swims with its head lifted slightly out of the water and its body mostly submerged.

Water voles vs. brown rats

Water vole	Brown rat
Round and blunt face	Pointed face
Brown, furry, short tail	Long pink tail
Small ears, close to head	Visible pink ears
Furry paws	Pink paws
Deep brown colour	Light brown in colour, with lighter underparts
Eats waterside vegetation, leaving it with a 45-degree cut	Omnivores with opportunistic diets