WATER SHREW. 29 



ashore and emptied of their living contents. It eats other 

 aquatic animals, such as snails, worms, small crustaceans, 

 frogs, and small fishes ; is not averse from a little carrion, and 

 has been caught in a trap that was baited with cheese. It 

 utters a cricket-like chirp not unlike that of the other Shrews. 



As he seldom goes more than a couple of yards from the 

 bank, the quiet observer may take full stock of his proceedings, 

 for the limited range of his vision does not permit him to see 

 you. He appears to be very buoyant in the water, swimming 

 with his head slightly above the surface and the body spread 

 out. Though he may walk for a time along the bottom, he 

 never gets his fur wet. At times he makes distinct leaps out of 

 the water, apparently after a flying insect. 



His home is a burrow in the bank, and far inside the female 

 lines a chamber with moss and fine roots, or weaves a round 

 nest of grass and leaves where in May or June she brings forth 

 her litter of five to eight minute blind and naked young. These 

 develop rapidly and when they are five or six weeks old they 

 are independent. There is probably a second brood in 

 September. Like the other Shrews the males are great 

 fighters. 



He is found sometimes at a considerable distance from the 

 water, apparently seeking a change of diet, or migrating to a 

 more abundant food supply. It does not hibernate, and may 

 be seen in winter pursuing its prey beneath the ice. Its chief 

 enemy is the Owl, whose cast-up pellets frequently contain the 

 skulls of Shrews. 



The Water Shrew is much more local in its occurrence than 

 are the other Shrews. With this reservation it may be said to 

 be widely distributed throughout England, Wales, and Scotland ; 

 and in Staffordshire and Cheshire has been found at elevations 

 of a thousand feet. It is not found either in Ireland, the Isle 

 of Man, the Outer Hebrides, the Orkneys or Shetlands. In 

 the Fen country it is known as the Blind-mouse. 



