BRITISH MAMMALS 
for the figure in the plate, the soft velvety fiir of the body had a 
beautiful silvery gloss. The underparts are dull white. 
The Lesser Shrew ranges from the British Islands through the greater 
part of Europe and over northern Asia, where it has been found within 
the Arctic circle (Dobson). Eastwards it reaches the Pacific, while 
closely allied forms represent it in America. 
In the British Islands it is probably much more plentiful than would 
appear from the casual notices of its appearance, as its presence in any 
locality may easily pass unnoticed. 
In the neighbourhood of Hascombe, Surrey, I have come across it as 
often, perhaps more often, than the Common Shrew, but in general it 
seems to be more sparsely distributed in England than the other. 
The Lesser Shrew is common in many parts of Scotland and has even 
been recorded from the top of Ben Nevis, where a cat at the obser- 
vatory brought home a specimen. 
It is known on many of the Western Islands, being plentiful in the 
Outer Hebrides and has been recorded in the Orkneys, but not in the 
Shetlands. This shrew is abundant in Ireland where it is the only 
species. 
In habits it resembles the Common Shrew, inhabiting hedgerow banks 
and meadows. It is apparently active in the winter, as I have more 
than once caught it in traps set to catch mice in an apple loft under 
the roof of my house. 
Though hardy as regards severe cold under natural conditions the 
constitution of this little animal is yet extremely frail and sensitive to 
any kind of shock or untoward circumstances, even a few minutes 
detention in a trap being fatal, according to information supplied to 
Barrett Hamilton by Mr. A. H. Cocks {^4 History of 'British Mammals, 
part ix. p. 121.) 
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