324 INSECTIVORES. 



With the exception of a few species which have taken to an aquatic life, the 

 shrews are terrestrial and nocturnal in their habits. They are all covered with 

 fur, generally remarkable for its softness ; the head is long, with a sharply pointed 

 snout projecting far in advance of the tip of the lower jaw ; their eyes are extremely 

 small and bead-like ; and the external ears, if present at all, are rounded, and not 

 unlike the human ear in general contour. 



Distribution The shrews have a more extensive distribution than any other 



and Habits, family of Insectivores, and likewise comprise a far larger number of 

 species. They are to be met with throughout the whole of the temperate and 

 tropical regions of Europe, Asia, Africa, and North America, as well as on many of 

 the adjacent islands ; one species extending as far north as Unalaska Island in the 

 Aleutian group. " From their obscure and retiring habits," writes Bell, " the 

 shrews are difficult of observation ; their long and pointed snout, their extensible 

 form, and short and velvety coat enable them to pass through the closest herbage, 

 or beneath the carpets of dry leaves in the coppice and woodland, in which situa- 

 tions, as well as in the open fields, whether cultivated or in pasture, they seek their 



SKELETON OF WATER-SHREW. 



food. But they are not confined in their habitat to such situations, as with their 

 congeners, the water shrews, they are often met with in marshy and fen districts." 

 On the other hand, one of the Indian shrews constantly frequents dwelling-houses. 

 The number of genera (to say nothing of species) of shrews is so considerable, 

 that it is only possible to notice here some of the more interesting and important. 

 The genera may be arranged under two groups, according as to whether the teeth 

 are stained of a reddish-brown colour or are of the ordinary white hue. 



THE TYPICAL SHKEWS. 

 Genus Sorex. 



In addition to their red teeth, the typical shrews, as represented by the common 

 European shrew (Sorex vulgaris), figured on the right side of the following 

 illustration, are characterised by the number of their teeth being thirty-two, and 

 by the large size of their ears and the length of the tail ; the latter being covered 

 with hairs of nearly, or quite, uniform length. With the exception of two peculiar 

 species, all these shrews are terrestrial ; and they inhabit Europe, Asia north of the 

 Himalaya, and North America. And it may be remarked here that the red- 



