CreatureData

Northern birch mouse

Sicista betulina (Pallas, 1779)

LCLeast Concernrodents

The northern birch mouse (Sicista betulina) is a species in the family Dipodidae, order Rodentia. Recorded adults weigh 8 g to 8.92 g and live up to 3.5 years. Its IUCN Red List status is Least Concern.

Northern birch mouse (Sicista betulina)
Photo: AfroBrazilian · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Quick facts about the northern birch mouse

Weight
8 g – 8.92 gsrc for Weight
Length
Not recorded
Lifespan
3.5 yearssrc for Lifespan
Diet
Herbivoresrc for Diet
Longest recorded lifespan
4 years
Main food
Not recorded
Habitat
Not recorded
Gestation
18 days – 30.5 dayssrc for Gestation
Young per litter or clutch
5.08src for Young per litter or clutch
Age at maturity
12 monthssrc for Age at maturity
Litters or clutches a year
1src for Litters or clutches a year
Active
At night (nocturnal)src for Active
Lifestyle
Terrestrialsrc for Lifestyle
Conservation status
Least Concern (IUCN)src for Conservation status
Countries on record
Not recorded

Where does the northern birch mouse live?

Not recorded

What is the northern birch mouse?

Quoted from WikipediaCC BY-SA 4.0

The northern birch mouse (Sicista betulina) is a small rodent about 5 to 8 cm (2.0 to 3.1 in) long (without the tail), weighing 5 to 13 g (0.18 to 0.46 oz). It lives in northern Europe and Asia in forest and marsh zones.

It hibernates in burrows. It eats shoots, grains, berries, and sometimes insects.

From the Wikipedia article “Northern birch mouse” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Northern_birch_mouse&oldid=1375473071), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.

Is the northern birch mouse endangered?

The northern birch mouse is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List: it is not currently at risk of extinction.

  1. LCLeast Concern
  2. NTNear Threatened
  3. VUVulnerable
  4. ENEndangered
  5. CRCritically Endangered
  6. EWExtinct in the Wild
  7. EXExtinct

Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Least Concern species. What the categories mean.

How is the northern birch mouse classified?

  1. kingdomAnimalia
  2. phylumChordata
  3. classMammalia
  4. orderRodentia
  5. familyDipodidae
  6. genusSicista
  7. SpeciesSicista betulina (Pallas, 1779)

Synonyms Mus betulinus, Sicista betulina taigica, Sicista montana, Sicista norvegica, Sminthus tatricus

Other names and names in other languages (26)
  • Мышоўка ляснаяBelarusian
  • myšivka horskáCzech
  • BirkemusDanish
  • StreifenhüpfmausGerman
  • WaldbirkenmausGerman
  • Βόρειος ΣημυδοποντικόςGreek
  • Ratón Listado NórdicoSpanish
  • kasetriibikEstonian
  • koivuhiiriFinnish
  • Siciste des bouleauxFrench
  • Sminto betulinoItalian
  • Topolino delle betulle settentrionaleItalian
  • モリオナガネズミJapanese
  • Орман тышқаныKazakh
  • Beržinė sicistaLithuanian
  • bjørkemusNorwegian Bokmål
  • BerkenmuisDutch
  • smużka leśnaPolish
  • Лесная мышовкаRussian
  • Myšovka horskáSlovak
  • brezova mišSlovenian
  • Nordisk buskmusSwedish
  • björkmusSwedish
  • buskmusSwedish
  • Мишівка лісоваUkrainian
  • 林蹶鼠Chinese

Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistTAXREFWikidataIUCN Red List

Relatives of the northern birch mouse

Other species in the same genus Sicista.

LC, Least Concern

Gray birch mouse

Sicista pseudonapaea

DipodidaeNo free photo yet

CompareNorthern birch mouse vs Southern birch mouseNorthern birch mouse vs Armenian birch mouseNorthern birch mouse vs Caucasian birch mouseNorthern birch mouse vs Altai birch mouse

Common questions

Answered only where our data holds the answer.

How big is the northern birch mouse?

An adult northern birch mouse weighs 8 g – 8.92 g, according to values recorded on Wikidata.

Is the northern birch mouse endangered?

The northern birch mouse is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, meaning it is not currently at risk of extinction.

How long does the northern birch mouse live?

The northern birch mouse has a recorded lifespan of 3.5 years.

How long is the northern birch mouse pregnant?

The recorded gestation period is 18 days – 30.5 days.

What kind of animal is the northern birch mouse?

The northern birch mouse (Sicista betulina) belongs to the family Dipodidae in the order Rodentia.

Sources and how to cite this page

Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.

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APA

CreatureData. (2026). Northern birch mouse (Sicista betulina). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/northern-birch-mouse

MLA

“Northern birch mouse (Sicista betulina).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/northern-birch-mouse.

BibTeX
@misc{northern_birch_mouse_2026,
  title = {Northern birch mouse (Sicista betulina)},
  author = {{CreatureData}},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/northern-birch-mouse},
  note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}