SHREWS. 77 



covered by two rows of coarse hairs, which secretes the well- 

 known odour so characteristic of Shrews in general, and which, 

 in one Indian species, is so strongly developed as to render 

 uneatable any article of food with which the creature may 

 have come in contact. 



Distribution. — The common Shrew is one of the comparatively 

 few Mammals which have an almost circumpolar distribution, 

 its range extending from England across Europe and Asia, 

 north of the Himalaya into North America. It is, however, 

 not a little remarkable that an animal with such an exceedingly 

 wide geographical range should be totally unknown in Ireland. 

 In England and Wales it appears to be universally distributed, 

 and it likewise ranges throughout the mainland of Scotland. 

 Although it has been recorded from lona, it now appears 

 that throughout the Hebrides the genus is represented only by 

 the Lesser Shrew. Fossil remains, originally assigned to the 

 Water-Shrew, appear to indicate the existence of the present 

 and perhaps also the next species in the Norfolk forest-bed, 

 which, as we have seen, is at least as old as the early part of 

 the Pleistocene epoch. 



Habits. — Nocturnal and retiring in its habits, the Shrew is 

 but seldom seen in a living state, although in summer even- 

 ings its shrill squeaking cry may often be heard in woods, hedge- 

 rows, and dry meadows, which are its favourite haunts. We 

 say in a living state advisedly, since, in the autumn, numbers of 

 dead Shrews are often to be seen on garden-paths and lanes, 

 which have succumbed to a mortality, the cause of which is 

 by no means clear. During the summer months these little 

 creatures form well-marked runs among the stalks of grass of 

 meadows ; and, although they are generally found in those in 

 which the soil is dry, they are by no means wanting in damp 

 and marshy situations. During the winter they retire beneath 

 the roots of trees or bushes, to the deserted holes of other 



