Shrews' mews: shrews eschew subdued cues

2026-05-10

Shrews use a wide range of twittering, multi-harmonic vocalizations. Some species of shrews can even echolocate to identify and find paths through their surroundings, making them one of only a handful of terrestrial mammals that use echolocation!

Sources

Siemers BM, Schauermann G, Turni H, von Merten S (October 2009). "Why do shrews twitter? Communication or simple echo-based orientation". Biology Letters. 5 (5): 593–6. doi:10.1098/rsbl.2009.0378. PMC 2781971. PMID 19535367.
Chai, Simin; Tian, Ran; Rong, Xinghua; Li, Guiting; Chen, Bingyao; Ren, Wenhua; Xu, Shixia; Yang, Guang (2020-02-25). "Evidence of Echolocation in the Common Shrew from Molecular Convergence with Other Echolocating Mammals".
Zoological Studies. 59 (59): e4. doi:10.6620/ZS.2020.59-04. ISSN 1021-5506. PMC 7262541. PMID 32494297. S2CID 215414310.