Field Guide
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Pygmy Shrew
Sorex minutus
Not yet photographed by the community
One of Europe's smallest mammals; proportionally larger head.
Species Profile
Green List (stable population in the UK)
- Lifespan
- 18 months to 2.5 years in the wild
- Size & Weight
- 4.3–6.3 cm body length, 2–6 g (Britain's smallest mammal)
- Habitat
- Grasslands, moorlands, woodlands, and hedgerows with dense ground vegetation and leaf litter.
- UK Distribution
- Found throughout mainland Great Britain and Ireland, from sea level to mountain regions; resident year-round with populations subject to significant fluctuations.
- Diet
- Insectivorous, consuming small invertebrates including spiders, insects, larvae, and earthworms; must eat almost continuously due to high metabolic rate.
- Prey
- Spiders, beetles, fly larvae, woodlice, centipedes, and small earthworms
- Predators
- Owls (particularly Tawny owls), kestrels, weasels, stoats, and domestic cats
- Mating Season
- April to September
- Breeding
- 2–3 litters per year with 5–8 young per litter; gestation period approximately 21–22 days; young weaned at 3–4 weeks
- Behaviour
- Solitary and highly active both day and night, with rapid movement through vegetation and leaf litter. Creates and maintains small runway systems. Has an extremely high metabolism requiring feeding every 2–3 hours to survive.
- •The Pygmy Shrew is the smallest mammal in Britain, weighing less than a penny
- •It must consume approximately 90% of its body weight in food daily due to its rapid metabolism
- •Unlike most UK shrews, it lacks the distinctive musky odour glands, making it more palatable to some predators
- •Its heart rate can reach up to 1,200 beats per minute, among the fastest of any mammal
- •It has poor eyesight but excellent hearing and uses echolocation-like vocalizations to navigate
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