PIGMY SHREW. 63 



are situated outward, and are furnished with large claws. 

 The hind feet are much smaller. The fur is short, close 

 set, softer than the finest velvet, and generally of a glossy 

 black colour. 



21. SHREW TRIBE. 



The Shrews are nearly allied both to the moles and 

 the mice. By means of their snout, they root up the 

 ground in search of food, which chiefly consists of 

 worms and insects. 



The Common or Fetid Shrew. Smaller than the mouse, 

 this little creature generally resides in a burrow under 

 the surface of the ground, in some hedge-row, or other 

 secure place, in the neighbourhood of hayricks or dung- 

 hills. In the latter it roots with its snout, in the manner 

 of a hog, in search of worms, the grubs of insects, and 

 other food. Its voice is a shrill kind of whistle, not 

 unlike that of some species of grasshoppers. There is 

 prevalent an absurd notion, that the bite of these animals 

 is injurious to horses. Their smell is musky, but, at the 

 same time, extremely nauseous. Cats kill them eagerly, 

 but never eat them. 



The length of the Fetid Shrew is about two inches and 

 a half, and of the tail somewhat more than an inch. The 

 snout is long and slender; and the eyes are so small, as 

 almost to be concealed in the fur. The ears are short and 

 rounded. The colour is a dusky red on the upper parts 

 of the body, and white beneath. 



Pigmy Shrew. This animal, a native of Siberia, is 

 only mentioned here from the circumstance of its being 

 the smallest known quadruped, its weight scarcely ex- 



