Habitat
The Eurasian, or common shrew in Britain, Scandinavia, and Eastern Europe. It prefers to live in cool, damp places that is dense with vegetation but it will tolerate drier areas as well, such as scrub, road verges, and even sand dunes.
Physiology
The Eurasian common shrew is very similar to the Eurasian pygmy and Eurasian water shrew, however there are a few differences. The common shrew is mostly grey and two shades of brown with a shorter tail whereas the pygmy shrew is brown and white. Water shrews differ by being heavier and having a mostly black coat.
Diet
These shrews eat mostly invertebrates such as beetles, earthworms, slugs, and woodlice, but they will not eat millipedes. On occasion they will eat seeds, other plant materials, or small vertebrates such as small mice or voles. The Eurasian shrew eat, roughly, 200-300% of their body weight. In order to achieve this they must eat every two to three hours and may starve if they have not eaten in as little as five hours.
Echolocation
There is some debate on whether these shrews use echolocation for orientation as well as hunting, however it is clear that they can only use echolocation at a close range. It appears unlikely that they use these close-ranged sounds for hunting however it is still a possibility. The most likely scenario is that these shrews use echolocation for spacial orientation in order to find their way through the dark.