THE SHREWS- SHREWS PROPER. 



299 



strong odor of musk, which, though it does not pro- 

 tect their life from enemies, renders their flesh 

 unpalatable to all but a few animals, for Dogs, Cats 

 and Weasels usually let killed Shrews lie without 

 eating them while most birds, whose senses of smell 

 and taste are less developed, do not disdain to 

 devour them. 



Most Shrews are prolific animals, for the number 

 of their young ranges between four and ten at a 

 birth. They are usually born with closed eyes and 



I the 



THE COMMON SHEEW. The most numerous family of the Insect-Eating animals is that 



Shrews, and the typical species of this family is the Common Shrew of Europe, which is no larger than a common 

 Mouse, but is a fierce, sanguinary and voracious little creature. The characteristics of the animal are well shown 

 in the picture, and the little insect which is being pursued is evidently doomed. {Sorex vulgaris.) 



destitute of any hairy covering, but they grow apace, 

 and in a month they are able to ply their craft. 



THE SHREWS PROPER. 



In the first sub-order we include the Shrews 

 proper (Soricince). They constitute the center of 

 the family; their teeth are from twenty-eight to 

 thirty-two in number, the skull is long and narrow 

 and there are no webs between the toes. 



Description of The Shrews in the narrowest sense 



the Common {Sorex) are distinguished by having 

 Shrew. thirty-two teeth, tipped with dark- 



brown, feet and toes surrounded on all sides with 

 short, soft hair, and a tail clothed in fur of uniform 

 length. Their typical representative is the Common 

 Shrew (Sorex vulgaris). It is somewhat inferior in 

 size to the domestic Mouse; its length is four and 

 one-half inches, one and three-fourths inches of 

 which is taken by the tail. The coloring of the 

 fine, velvety fur ranges between a vivid reddish 

 brown and the most lustrous black; the sides always 

 exhibit a lighter tinge than the back, the lower parts 

 are grayish white with a surface tinge of brown; the 

 lips are whitish, the long whisker hairs black, the 

 "■paws brownish, the tail dark brown on its upper and 

 brownish yellow on its under surface. The various 

 tints have given rise to different classifications, some 

 authorities recognizing several species, others con- 

 sidering them only varieties. 



Range of the The Common Shrew is found in 



Common Germany, Sweden, England, France, 



Shrew. Italy, Hungary and Galicia, and 



probably also in the adjacent parts of Russia, on 



heights as well as in low lands, on mountains and in 



valleys, in fields and gardens, in the neighborhood 



of villages or in the villages themselves, and usually 

 near water. In winter it seeks refuge in houses, 

 stables and barns. In Germany it is the commonest 

 species of the whole family. It likes best to live in 

 underground holes, and therefore is prone to take 

 up its abode in the burrows of Moles or in deserted 

 Mouse holes, if it does not find natural crevices in 

 rocks. In soft ground it scoops out runs for itself 

 with its muzzle and weak fore-paws: the runs always 

 being very near the surface. As with most other 

 species of the family, its 

 habits are wholly nocturnal, 

 and it is averse to leaving 

 its underground abode in 

 the daytime. It never does 

 so in the midday sunshine, 

 and there is good reason to 

 §j believe that the rays of the 

 \Ji sun cause it serious dis- 

 -c comfort; at least it is sup- 

 -C 1 . posed that the many dead 

 "' Shrews which are found on 

 roads and in ditches in the 

 latter part of summer, have 

 iV> been unable to find the en- 

 «|> trance of their underground 

 retreats, being dazzled by 

 the glare of the sun, and 

 therefore have perished. 

 Habits and Move- The Shrew 

 merits of Com- is occupied 

 mon Shrews. incessantly 

 in sniffing in all directions 

 seeking for food, accom- 

 panying its explorations 

 with rapid twitchings of its 

 mobile muzzle; and whatever it is able to despatch 

 is devoured, not sparing its own young or the 

 slain of its own species. Lenz says: " I have often 

 kept Shrews in boxes. One can hardly satisfy their 

 appetites with Flies. Mealworms, Earthworms and 

 such food. I had to give to each of them daily a 

 dead Mouse, Shrew or bird equal in size to itself. 

 Small as they were, they invariably ate the entire 

 animal, leaving nothing but the skin and bones. In 

 this way I sometimes succeeded in fattening them; 

 but if Shrews have to endure the slightest fast, they 

 die. I have also tried to keep them alive by feed- 

 ing them on bread, turnips, pears, hemp seed, poppy 



BROAD-NOSED SHREW. 



true Shrews which is found in the 

 and resembles the Common Shrew 

 ican species. (Sorex platyrliuuts.) 



seed, rape seed, canary seed, etc.; but they preferred 

 starvation to this food. If I gave them rich cake, 

 they tried to eat it on account of the fat; if they 

 found a Shrew or Mouse caught in a trap, they 

 immediately set to work and devoured it. With 

 good care, a Shrew may be kept for months." 



Welcker tied a string to the hind leg of a living 

 Shrew and let it creep into holes in a field infested 



