The little tunneled runways of these shrews form a network in the beds of moss in a sphagnum swamp near Washington. In the forest the animals always seek the cover afforded by fallen logs, slabs of bark, or anything else that will give protection. On the coast of New Jersey they live so near the sea that an extra high tide forces them to mount the drift logs on the salt meadows for safety. They often make little burrows in the soft earth under the roots of a tree, a stump, or a log. [Illustration: THE TRAIL OF THE COMMON SKUNK The hind foot of the skunk rarely shows the claws in the track. The diagonal set during the gallop is characteristic (see pages 558 and 580).] Their nests are small balls of dry leaves, grasses, or other soft vegetable material placed snugly under a log or in a hollow stump, burrow, or other good retreat, where they appear to have two or more litters of from six to ten young during the summer and fall. As in the other shrews, the food of the common species consists mainly of insects, larvæ, worms, and obtainable flesh; but in winter and possibly at other seasons many kinds of food are eaten, including insects, meat, fat, flour, and seeds. During the years I passed at St. Michael, on the coast of Bering Sea, the beginning of winter always brought into the storehouses and dwellings a swarm of field mice, lemmings, and these shrews. The food requirements of all appeared to be the same, and all fed freely on the flour and other accessible stores. Dozen of the shrews were killed in the houses every winter. Occasionally I caught and kept one captive for a time to observe its habits. It would be extremely restless and equally active by day or night. The small eyes appeared of little service, but the long, flexible snout was used constantly and served as the main reliance of the little beast for information as to the outside world. Wherever they travel these shrews utilize the runways of the field mice or other small animals and make little runs of their own only where necessary. Aside from a faint squeak, I have never heard them utter a sound, but other observers credit them with series of fine twittering notes apparently uttered as a song. The common shrew is a solitary animal of so morose a disposition that if two are placed in a cage together they almost immediately fall upon one another with tooth and nail, and the victor devours the body of its companion at a single meal. The digestion of shrews is so rapid and the call for food so incessant that it requires constant activity to keep the demand satisfied.