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NOTES AND QUERIES. 

MAMMALIA. 
Gregarian Occurrence of the Water Shrew (Sorex fodiens) in York- 
shire.—Between six and seven o’clock in the evening of May 10th, 
1907, I was attracted by an unusual agitation of the water in a wide 
ditch or long narrow pond skirting the eastern margin of a plantation 
at Ackworth, and communicating with the River Went, a small stream 
more or less polluted with sewage. The weather was fairly warm, 
and there had been rain, accompanied by thunder and lightning, 
during the day. Standing at the edge of the pond for half an hour or 
more I had the good fortune to see twenty or thirty Water Shrews 
disporting in the water. They were chasing one another in amorous 
play, and they kept up a squeaking chorus. When swimming on the 
surface of the water they had a wriggling motion, caused by the alter- 
nate action of the hind feet. Several left the water and ran on the 
bank of the pond, some of them coming within a few inches of my 
feet. When I stirred or made a noise those on the bank instantly 
plunged into the water out of sight, and those in the act of swimming 
or running on the weeds floating on the water immediately dived, but 
they only disappeared for a few brief moments, coming up again and 
continuing their frolics. The colour of the upper parts ranged from 
velvety black to brown and grey, and in some of them, when swim- 
ming, the white of the belly was projected so as to present a narrow 
line, giving the appearance of a white fringe along either side. Al- 
though I frequently visited the spot and its neighbourhood before and 
since this interesting exhibition—and I was there on several evenings 
immediately succeeding that of the occurrence related—I have only 
occasionally noticed single examples, none of which were at the spot 
where I observed the party —WattEr B. ArunDEL (High Ackworth, 
Pontefract). 
Common Shrew in Skye.—On Sept. 18th, 1907, I had the good 
fortune to trap a female Sorex araneus below the garden of the hotel at 
Sligachan, Skye. I have delayed in writing this note as I have been 
away from home and desired to enclose its measurements to ensure 
the correctness of my identification. These measurements, taken on 
