BRITISH MAMMALS 



Pairing takes place as a result ofstern combats between 

 the males, and this perhaps accounts for the number of 

 dead Moles which may be found about the time these 

 contests are held. There are more males than females , 

 and it is probably because of this that fights are so often 

 waged between the males so as to secure a partner. 



As to whether this animal perpetrates harm by its 

 exploits in fields, meadows, and other country places, is 

 a matter of opinion. In gardens and on lawns it does 

 become a nuisance, but as in its own chosen haunts it 

 mostly frequents damp fields and meadows, and lays 

 down, as it were, a natural drainage system, there is 

 much to be credited to it in this respect. It belongs to 

 the true Moles which come under the genus Talpa, 

 whose fossil remains have often been discovered. 



Common Shrew. — Of late years w^e have noticed 



with interest that this small British mammal (Fig 7) 



appears to be rapidly increasing in the region of North 



Hertfordshire, where our own country expeditions are 



mostly conducted. It is safe to assert that it is the most 



prominent mammal noted day after day, and although not 



often seen, the characteristic noise that is made by the 



little creature as it goes a-hunting in the undergrowth, is 



very rarely out of hearing. Can it be that the slaughter 



of Owls, Kestrels, Sparrow Hawks and similar birds 



has accounted for this increase in the Shrew's population, 



or must some other reason be assigned for it } We 



make the suggestion in the hope that the reader may be 



able to throw some light on the subject. Few people, 

 40 



