The bank vole is a small rodent resembling a mouse when young but developing a stouter body, a slightly rounder head with smaller ears and eyes and a shorter, hairy tail.

The grey red-backed vole (Craseomys rufocanus) from northern Eurasia, is larger with a distinctive reddish back.

[3] The bank vole is found in forests, especially in deciduous and mixed woodland with scrub, low plants and leaf litter.

In mountainous regions and the northern part of its range it occurs in coniferous woodland at altitudes of up to 1,800 metres (5,900 ft).

[2] In the Mediterranean region, at the southern extent of its range, it is a habitat specialist and is found in moist woodland but not in grassland and bushy places.

[4] At the fringes of forested areas it is possible for there to be a metapopulation consisting of a number of spatially separated populations of bank vole that come and go according to the season and local events.

It gathers and stores food underground and makes a nest with moss, dry grasses and leaves close to the surface or even above ground.

Its diet varies with the season but usually consists of leaves, grasses, roots, buds, bark, fruits, nuts, grain and seeds.

[2][6] The bank vole climbs well and in the winter it feeds on the bark of trees including beeches, maples and larch up to several metres above the ground.

It also eats tree seedlings and reduces the natural regeneration of woodland and when present in large numbers, is considered a forest pest.

[6] In captivity this can increase to over 42 months, with the older voles tending to spend most time resting, less physically agile, though still capable of having a spin on the wheel.

Male bank voles exhibit inbreeding avoidance behavior, finding nonsibling females more attractive than siblings.

For these reasons, the International Union for Conservation of Nature has rated the bank vole as being of "Least Concern" in its Red List of Threatened Species.

[1] When it lives on road verges, the bank vole can suffer from lead toxicity and near farmland it may be affected by pesticides, molluscicides and rodenticides.