Singing Mice?

I came across this report of singing mice (they apparently sing for many of the same reasons birds do) when first I visited Sad Old Goth.

I did several papers on bird song while working on my Masters degree at Seton Hall. I then did my Masters research thesis on wild populations of white-footed deer mice.

I looked into whether the little buggers crossed the multilane Interstate highways in Somerset County. It was a trap, tag, release and retrap project that went on for about 18 months. I trapped mice on the medians of I-78 and I-287 as well as in the woods adjacent to the highways. None of the mice caught on median plots were recaptured in the woodland plots or visa versa. Whether this was due to the wiliness of the mice, the possibility of becoming furred Frisbees should they cross three lanes of traffic, or an unwillingness to expose themselves to predators by scampering across such open space, I could not be sure. I could conclude that, for whatever reason, white-footed mice did not cross the roadway successfully despite previous studies showing they may actually roam quite far from home.

Never heard one sing though. Then again, I can’t hear ultrasonic sounds. This might explain why I have seen fox tilting their heads as if to listen before pouncing on prey. Maybe it’s more than just the scurrying sounds they are picking up.