Mice or rats? WARNING dead rodent pics

[GlitteryFluff]

Woke up this morning to two dead rodents in garden. Any idea what they are?
For size reference the circle thing is for a washing line pole. They're small but could be baby rats?
Or mice as they have larger ears?

They are field mice. I caught a couple yesterday in my duck's feed container. They come off fields around this time of year after harvest. Rats have smaller ears and thicker tails.

They’re mice. Poor things. 😔

Feeding the birds

Feeding the rats!

I'd guess mice because of the pointy nose. But if you're feeding the birds you will get rats if you haven't already.

Feeding the rats!

Oh well, all creatures have to eat.

There are various indicators, eg the scaly tail, wedge shaped nose, that are supposed to distinguish between the two, but I still find it almost impossible.

If it’s small but clearly adult, it’s a mouse. If it’s large but clearly juvenile (large head, small body) it’s a rat. And that’s as far as I’ve got it sorted in my mind.

Wood mice

I was told if the tail is shorter than the body, it's a rat. Otherwise a mouse. In the pictures though they look about the same length. The question is kind of academic though. Most gardens will be visited by rodents of various types and the species cause much the same problems, when they cause any problem that is. Rats are just a bit more ick. Poor things, do you know what killed them?

If it's much short than the body, it would be a vole.

Or a rat that's had an accident.

You can usually tell mice and rats apart by their tails.
Rats are hairless and banded.
Mice are not banded and can be hairy.
A small rat still tends to be bigger than an adult mouse.

True, vole tails are always much shorter than their bodies and vole tails are furry.

Looks like a mouse to me.

Rats

Definitely rats.

That's a rat and the nest will be in that hole.

It would be really helpful if people give their reasons. Onan anonymous forum we don’t know whether you’re a pest controller or zoologist with many years experience, so we don’t know what weight to put on your opinion. And I’m not sure a simple poll will get us the right answer