Volume 22, Plate VI / Mammalia (Mammals)

Common Shrew

Sorex Araneus

About four inches and a half long including the tail, with full body, pointed snout, very short rounded ears, and soft short fur brownish-red above and pale brownish-grey below, the feet flesh-coloured. Generally distributed in dry woods, hedges, and fields, it feeds entirely on insects and worms, runs with great celerity, emits a rank musky smell, burrows for winter, and forms a bulky covered nest of grass holding five to seven young.