Shrew
in zoölogy, a popular name for any individual of the Soricidæ, particularly the common (Sorex vulgaris) and the lesser shrew (S. pygmæus). The former is about the size of a mouse, which it somewhat resembles, but has the muzzle produced, with prominent nostrils, far beyond the lip; the eyes are scarcely discernible through the fur; ears wide and short; the tail is four-sided, with the angles rounded off; fur usually reddishgray above, grayish beneath, but the color varies. They feed on insects and worms and the smaller mollusca; they are extremely pugnacious, and two males scarcely ever meet without a battle, when the weaker is killed and eaten. They breed in the spring; the female makes a nest of dry herbage in a hole in the ground, and brings forth from five to seven young, but their increase is checked by the weasel and barn owl.
SHREW MOLE (Scalops aquaticus), a genus of insectivorous mammals, belonging to the family of Soricidæ or shrew mice, but also by some zoölogists placed in the Talpidæ or mole family. It is found in North America, usually near rivers and streams, and burrows after the fashion of the common mole.
SHREWSBURY a