n6 WOODLANDERS AND FIELD FOLK 



lying fields and in moist woods which margin 

 streams. It runs nimbly up the stalks of grasses 

 in search of insects and their larvae, though its food 

 consists principally of worms and slugs. In spring, 

 when pairing time comes, long and fierce are the 

 combats that take place between these tiny creatures. 

 The number of males greatly exceeds that of the 

 females, and their battles sometimes last for several 

 successive days. In April and May the female 

 shrew brings forth her numerous family in a cosy 

 nest of dried herbage, in some hedgerow or em- 

 bankment. If in the latter situation, broad-leaved 

 plants such as butterbur, docks and wild parsley 

 are almost certain to be found in the vicinity. The 

 shrew hibernates during the winter, and passes much 

 of its time in a burrow constructed in late autumn. 

 Its strong and curved toes aid it in its burrowing 

 operations, and all the shrews are their own architects. 

 Those who live in the country must often have 

 noticed numbers of shrews lying dead in fields and 

 gardens in summer. This is an unaccountable 

 part of its history. Some naturalists assert that the 

 little creatures are killed by predatory birds, but are 

 not eaten on account of the strong smell peculiar 

 to all the members of this family. Others believe 

 in an annual access of mortality, which itself would 

 have to be explained. It is on moist summer 

 evenings that such numbers of dead shrews are seen, 



