THE WATER-SHREWS.
These little animals are slightly larger than the real Shrews, which they very much resemble, and from which they are further distinguishable by the facility with which they swim and dive, owing to the fringed condition of their feet.
The Water-shrew frequents fresh, clear streams and ponds, constructing in their banks long winding burrows, terminating in a chamber lined with moss and grass. “When born they are,” Mr. Austen tells us, “curious pinky-white little creatures, but very unlike their parents.” A small colony of these Shrews frequently inhabit the same spot, and towards the cool of the evening may be observed searching for food, and sporting with each other in the water; now hiding behind stones or large leaves, as if to elude their companions, and then darting out to engage in a general skirmishing chase, diving and swimming with the greatest activity, and occasionally taking a plunge into their holes. By constantly traversing the same ground, in going and returning from their burrows, they gradually tread down a path among the grass and herbage, by which their presence may readily be discovered by an experienced eye. When under water, their fur is covered with multitudes of tiny air-bubbles that shine like silver and have a beautiful effect when seen against the dark surface of the body.