_Specimens examined_ (27).--NE 1/4 sec. 22, R. 1 E, T. 23 N, 1; 4 mi. S,
7 mi. W Ladner, 3; 2 mi. N, 5 mi. W Ludlow, 7; 1/2 mi. W Reva, 14; 10
mi. S, 5 mi. W Reva, 1; 14 mi. S, 4 mi. W Reva, 1.
The western harvest mouse was taken commonly in stands of tall grasses
and forbs, particularly along roadways and fencerows. Occasional
individuals were trapped in areas of mixed shrubs and grasses. Four
pregnant females taken in late June carried the following number of
embryos (crown-rump lengths in parentheses): seven (4), six (5), six
(10), five (4). Three adult males taken in the same period had testes
that measured 7, 7, and 8, whereas those of two May-taken males measured
12 and 6.
Molt from winter to summer pelage was in progress, from anterior to
posterior, on both the dorsum and venter of many May- and June-taken
animals. Some individuals had completed molt, or had but a small patch
of winter pelage remaining on the rump, as early as the last week in
June.
~Reithrodontomys montanus albescens~ Cary, 1903