. The animals of the world. Brehm's life of animals;. Mammals. THE SHREWS—SHREWS PROPER. 299 strong odor of musk, which, though it does not pro- tect their life from enemies, renders their flesh unpalatable to all but a few animals, for Dogs, Cats and Weasels usually let killed Shrews lie without eating them while most "birds, whose senses of smell and taste are less developed, do not disdain to devour them. Most Shrews are prolific animals, for the number of their young ranges between four and ten at a birth. They are usually born with closed eyes and. THE COUMON SHREW. Tte most numerous
. The animals of the world. Brehm's life of animals;. Mammals. THE SHREWS—SHREWS PROPER. 299 strong odor of musk, which, though it does not pro- tect their life from enemies, renders their flesh unpalatable to all but a few animals, for Dogs, Cats and Weasels usually let killed Shrews lie without eating them while most "birds, whose senses of smell and taste are less developed, do not disdain to devour them. Most Shrews are prolific animals, for the number of their young ranges between four and ten at a birth. They are usually born with closed eyes and. THE COUMON SHREW. Tte most numerous family of the Insect-Eating animals, is that of the Shrews, and the typical species of this family is the Common Shrew of Europe, which is no larger than a common Mouse, but is a fierce, sanguinary and vdracious little creature. The characteristics of the animal are well shown In the picture, and the little insect which is being pursued Is evidently doomed. {Sorex vulgaris.) destitute of any hairy covering, but they grow apace, and in a month they are able to ply their craft. THE SHREWS PROPER. In the first sub-order we include the Shrews proper {Soricince). They constitute the center of the family; their teeth' are from twenty-eight to thirty-two in number, the skuU is long and narrow and there are no webs between the toes. Description of The Shrews in the narrowest sense the Common {Sorex) are distinguished by having Shrew. thirty-two teeth, tipped with dark brown, feet and toes surrounded on all sides with short, soft hair, and a tail clothed in fur of uniform length. Their typical representative is the Common Shrew {Sorex vulgaris). It is somewhat inferior in size to the domestic Mouse; its length is four and one-half inches, one and three-fourths inches of which is taken by the tail. The coloring of the fine, velvety fur ranges between a vivid reddish brown and the most lustrous black; the sides always exhibit a lighter tinge than the back, the lower parts are grayish w
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1890, booksubjectmammals, bookyear1895
