Feathers under bird feeder could be a shrew sign

It happens every winter about this time. The phone rings, and a concerned voice asks for help. There are feathers under the feeders.
Not clumps of feathers, which would indicate a hawk kill, but just a few feathers directly beneath the feeders. I made the same observation and solved the mystery years ago so I'm always ready with an explanation.
The first time I noticed a few suspicious feathers under my feeders, I found hidden among the litter of sunflower seed shells a one-inch hole in the ground. Could mice be responsible for the feathers I'd found?
I pulled up a chair to a window so I could see the ground around the feeders. After about 30 minutes, movement at the hole caught my eye. A small head emerged, and I grabbed my binoculars for a better look.
It wasn't a mouse. The long, pointed snout and beady little eyes told me it was a shrew. Now I knew what was eating the goldfinches.
I shouldn't have been surprised. Small, mouselike mammals, shrews are voracious predators that often kill prey larger than themselves. Pygmy shrews, the smallest mammal in North America, weigh 2 to 4 grams (about the weight of a dime) and eat more than twice their weight in food every day.
Short-tailed shrews
The species I watched in my back yard was a short-tailed shrew. I could tell by its size -- about 4 inches -- and its short, 1-inch tail.
Short-tailed shrews are abundant and widespread in the eastern United States. They inhabit both deciduous and coniferous forests as well as old fields, thickets and hayfields. I sometimes catch one in a mousetrap in the cellar. Their only habitat requirement seems to be a thick layer of leaf litter that keeps the surface of the ground moist. The thick mat of sunflower hulls under the feeders certainly qualified.
Shrews eat mice, small birds, insects, earthworms, snails, slugs and insect larvae. Though they prefer animals, they also eat fungi, nuts and berries.
No doubt the ground around the bird feeders makes an excellent place to hunt. There is always a supply of food. After digging its burrow, a shrew needs only to sit at its entrance and wait for an unsuspecting bird to hop by.
A shrew strikes quickly. It grabs its prey and bites furiously. Short-tailed shrews have a special adaptation that enables them to take prey larger than themselves.
They are poisonous -- one of nature's few venomous mammals. Behind their lower front teeth are glands that release a powerful venom. It flows along a groove in the teeth and enters the wound as the shrew bites. The victim's struggle ends quickly.
The toxin usually just immobilizes rather than kills. In humans, the venom causes swelling and some pain that may last a day or more.
Storing live food
If the shrew doesn't eat its victim immediately, it caches it for later use. Because the victim is paralyzed rather than dead, it remains fresh for some time.
This can be important during very cold weather or when deep snow covers the ground. At these times, food is hard to come by, and stored food helps shrews through rough times they might otherwise not survive.
Not all shrews confine themselves to dry land. The semi-aquatic water shrew lives in bogs and along mountain streams. Its partially webbed, oversized hind feet help it swim efficiently as it hunts for small fish, snails, worms and other aquatic invertebrates.
When beneath the surface, a water shrew's dense fur traps airs bubbles for buoyancy. A swimming water shrew looks like a streaking silver bullet.
In nature's grand scheme, shrews kill relatively few birds, so birders needn't be alarmed. In fact, shrews are good to have around. They help control insect and rodent populations. Some evidence suggests that short-tailed shrews may also eat gypsy moth caterpillars.
If feathers mysteriously appear in your back yard this winter, look for shrew holes. Be alert, and you may even catch a glimpse of this beady-eyed killer.
XSend questions and comments to Dr. Scott Shalaway, R.D. 5, Cameron, W.Va. 26033 or via e-mail to sshalaway@aol.com.