vole

Everyday

A vole is a small, plump rodent like a mouse, with a short tail, small ears and a blunt nose, that lives in fields, woods and riverbanks. tree →

In the lessons

In nature lessons voles are an important part of food chains: owls, kestrels, foxes, weasels and stoats eat lots of them. The water vole is a British riverbank animal that has become rare because of American mink and loss of habitat; Ratty in «The Wind in the Willows» is really a water vole. Phrases: «field vole», «bank vole», «water vole».

Examples

• A barn owl swooped down and caught a vole. tree →
• Voles have shorter tails than mice. tree →
• Ratty in «The Wind in the Willows» is really a water vole. tree →
• Water voles dig burrows in riverbanks. tree →
• We found vole tunnels in the long grass. tree →
• Voles eat grass, roots and seeds. tree →
• The kestrel hovered, looking for voles. tree →

Note

Plural «voles». Trap: a vole is not a mole (a mole digs underground and eats worms) and not exactly a mouse (shorter tail, rounder face). Rhymes with «hole».