The Common Shrew is a small furry mammal that is widespread and very common in most parts of mainland England. It lives in a variety of habitats such as woodlands, grassland, scrubland, road verges, hedgerows and mature gardens.

The Common Shrew has dense grey-brown fur on top with lighter grey-brown fur on the sides and grey fur underneath. It has a body length of about seven centimetres and its brown tail is around five centimetres long. Its face is long and pointed with long sensitive whiskers and a pinkish snout. Its feet are also a pinky colour and the hind feet are larger than the front. The Common Shrew sometimes uses its front feet to pin down prey. Common Shrews are active both day and night and they need to eat every two to three hours to keep alive. They eat worms, woodlice, spiders, beetles, slugs, snails and insect larvae.

Common Shrews build their nests either underground in burrows or under dense vegetation. If the nests get disturbed, the young are moved to another nest. The mother leads the way to the new nest and the young follow behind her while biting hold of the tail of the shrew in front so they don’t get lost.

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