Short Tailed Shrew Blar'tna bret'icauda talpoides 



meadows, ravines, marshes, woods and open fields, yet 

 it is one of the least known of our mammalian fauna. 



It is frequently mistaken for the mole, which it 

 resembles, and certainly, it is often mistaken for the 

 field mouse. In color it resembles the latter, being a 

 sooty gray above and an ashy gray below. The fur is 

 dense, soft and glossy, and the sexes are identical. 



The shrew is insectivorous and carnivorous, feed- 

 ing upon insects and their larvae and field mice. 

 Great numbers of grubs, wireworms and other root de- 

 stroyers are eaten by it and it has also shown rather 

 pronounced cannabalistic tendencies by devouring its 

 fellows. It has been estimated that the shrew will con- 

 sume food equal to twice its weight in 24 hours. When 

 insects and mice are scarce, the shrew will eat nuts and 

 other vegetable matter. 



The short tailed shrew, unlike its long tailed 

 cousin, digs beneath the surface of the ground, where 



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