[3] 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.

[5] Common shrews are found throughout the woodlands, grasslands, and hedgelands of Britain, Scandinavia, and Eastern Europe.

[6] The common shrew's carnivorous and insectivorous diet consists of insects, slugs, spiders, worms, amphibians and small rodents.

This ability to shrink their bodies significantly reduces their food requirements and increases their chances of survival in the winter.

The common shrew breeding season lasts from April to September, but peaks during the summer months.

[14] A study by Nanjing Normal University in 2019 found that Sorex araneus is capable of echolocation via high-frequency tittering and close-range spatial orientation.

Comparison of genes involved in hearing between bats, bottlenose dolphins and Sorex araneus suggests that this is a result of convergent evolution.

The main predators of shrews are owls, cats, weasels, snakes, stoats, and red foxes.