60 Order INSECTIVORA 



nose; pin-point eyes; relatively large skull (nearly mouse-skull 

 size) without zygomatic arches. 



Life History. — The short-tailed shrew is an animal princi- 

 pally of forest floors, forest edges, meadows near woods, or 

 swampy, brushy habitats. Usually it builds its own burrow or 

 tunnel through leaves or humus. A log may serve as a roof for 

 its burrow. Frequently, when a log in the forest has been over- 

 turned or broken open, a furrow-like runway of the short-tailed 

 shrew is revealed. Burrows of this kind, about \\4 inches 

 in diameter, may be so numerous as to form a network in the 

 forest floor. A man walking through a forest may find that at 

 nearly every step his heel sinks into one of these burrows an 

 inch or two below the surface, fig. 1. Commonly there are 10 to 

 20 short-tailed shrews per acre in forests and fewer per acre in 

 grassy, less wooded areas. This shrew is regarded as the most 

 abundant small mammal in many wooded areas of Illinois. 



Its nest of grass, leaves, or hair, or a combination of these 

 materials, may be hidden beneath a large log or in a subterranean 

 burrow. This nest is slightly oval in shape and 4^4 to nearly 

 6 inches (120-150 mm.) in diameter. The number of litters 

 a female may have in a year is not known; probably there are 

 two or three litters of five to eight young each. The gestation 

 period is 21 to 22 days. At birth the young are helpless, pink 

 and wrinkled, and each is smaller than a honey bee. 



The short-tailed shrew is a ravenous feeder, consuming the 

 equivalent of its weight in food in a single day. Its food con- 

 sists principally of invertebrates, such as earthworms, snails. 

 and insects. Short-tailed shrews in captivity have been ob- 

 served attacking and killing mice, but no one has reported 

 seeing a shrew do this in the wild. The production of a poison- 

 ous substance by the submaxillary glands may aid this shrew 

 in overcoming its victim. In wintertime it caches live snails in 

 its burrows below ground and from this "pantry" it can draw 

 food as needed. 



Shrews of this species occur in the diet of owls and snakes. 

 Because uneaten carcasses of shrews are rather frequently 

 found, it is thought that some predators kill these animals and 

 then find them unpalatable. 



Short-tailed shrews may be kept in captivity, but only one 

 shrew should be placed in a container. If two are put together, 

 one will soon kill and devour the other. A glass aquarium tank, 



