24 A NATURALIST IN BORNEO 



in Bali and the Malay Peninsula. It is a little grey 

 Tree-Shrew with a long, slender tail, naked except for 

 some stiff white hairs at the end, arranged like the 

 vane of a feather. It is a rare animal, and I was 

 never fortunate enough to see it alive. It lives in 

 hollow trees, but stray specimens find their way into 

 houses ; the first specimen ever found was taken in 

 Sir Hugh Low's bungalow at Labuan, and a friend of 

 mine brought me one that had jumped out of a cup- 

 board in his house at Seyu, in Sarawak. The latter 

 specimen was seized by a dog, which, however, almost 

 immediately dropped the Shrew and shook his head 

 violently, as if to rid himself of a disagreeable odour 

 or taste. It is probable that all of the Shrew tribe are 

 distasteful creatures. There are several species of little 

 Ground-Shrews of the genus Crocidura found in Borneo, 

 and, like the English Shrew, their dead bodies are often 

 found lying on paths and roads. Natives, who are close 

 enough observers of nature, but are not good at finding 

 the causes of things, assert that it is death to a Shrew to 

 cross a road. The true explanation is that predatory 

 animals [including the small Owls (Scops) C. H.] kill 

 Shrews but do not devour them ; those that are left in 

 the scrub or jungle are never found, but those that 

 are dropped on paths are easily seen. 



The commonest Insectivores in Borneo are the Tree- 

 Shrews of the genus Tupaia, which have long excited 

 interest on account of the great resemblance that some 

 of the species bear, in their colouring [and move- 

 ments C. H.] , to certain species of Squirrels. 



The following table shows in a succinct manner the 

 general similarity in coloration between the principal 

 species of Bornean Tree-Shrews and some Squirrels : 



