Sorex araneus
Silhouette: Becky Barnes · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~40% in a week ~70%
The common shrew (Sorex araneus), also known as the Eurasian shrew, is the most common shrew, and one of the most common mammals, throughout Northern Europe, including Great Britain, but excluding Ireland. It is 55 to 82 millimetres (2.2 to 3.2 in) long and weighs 5 to 12 grams (0.2 to 0.4 oz), and has velvety dark brown fur with a pale underside. It is one of the rare venomous mammals. Juvenile shrews have lighter fur until their first moult. The common shrew has small eyes, a pointed, mobile snout and red-tipped teeth. It has a life span of approximately 14 months.
Shrews are active day and night, taking short periods of rest between relatively long bursts of activity. Common shrews are found throughout the woodlands, grasslands, and hedgelands of Britain, Scandinavia, and Eastern Europe. Each shrew establishes a home range of 370 to 630 m2 (440 to 750 yd²). Males often extend the boundaries during the breeding season to find females. Shrews are extremely territorial and will aggressively defend their home ranges from other shrews. They make their nests underground or under dense vegetation.
The common shrew's carnivorous and insectivorous diet consists... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Białowieża National Park | 🇵🇱 Poland | |
| 2 | Snowdonia National Park | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | |
| 3 | Cairngorms National Park | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Manchester | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | |
| 2 | Liverpool | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | |
| 3 | Birmingham | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | |
| 4 | Leeds | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | |
| 5 | Helsinki | 🇫🇮 Finland | |
| 6 | Copenhagen | 🇩🇰 Denmark | |
| 7 | London | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | |
| 8 | Kyiv | 🇺🇦 Ukraine | |
| 9 | Moscow | 🇷🇺 Russia | |
| 10 | Saint Petersburg | 🇷🇺 Russia |
Possible
About 20% of wildlife watchers report a Common Shrew sighting in Snowdonia National Park on a given day, based on 12 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 4th most-seen of the 15 mammals we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 40%, and over a week to about 70%, if each day is a fresh chance.
September
In that month about 30% of wildlife watchers report a Common Shrew in Snowdonia National Park on a given day, against under 5% in July and November–February, the lowest months.
Between 11 am and 2 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Common Shrew sightings with a recorded time, and about 8 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Among the best
Of the 3 parks where we can rate Common Shrew sightings, Snowdonia National Park ranks 2nd at about 20%, level with the leaders once rounded. The best odds are in Białowieża National Park (Poland, about 20%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Common Shrew is recorded against all the mammals logged in Snowdonia National Park (12 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
