Python Standard Library

Colophon

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The animals on the cover of Python Standard Library are harvest mice. Many species of harvest mice populate North American grasslands and marshes, while only one species-Micromys minutus, the Old World harvest mouse-resides in the grasslands and farmlands of Europe and Asia.

Smaller than the common house mouse, the harvest mouse sports prominent ears and a very long hairy tail, and its hind feet have an opposable fifth toe for grasping and climbing stems. Behaviorally, harvest mice set themselves apart from other mice species by building breeding nests suspended in high grasses. These nests are baseball-sized globes of woven grass with small entrance holes and are lined with soft plant material, such as dandelion fluff, to keep the young warm. The young are born in litters of three to six, completely dependent on the mother (the father is not allowed in the nest). By the time they are five weeks old, however, they are independent and sexually mature. Overall, harvest mice typically live for six to eighteen months in the wild-enough time for a female to produce one to six litters in her lifetime. These numbers are much higher for mice in captivity.

The harvest mouse is a “cover dependent” species, as it relies on brush and vegetation ...