Food habits of five western Oregon shrews

The five most important foods, by decreasing percentage volume, among 158 Trowbridge shrews,Sorex trowbridgii, were centipedes, spiders, internal organs of larval invertebrates (probably mostlybeetles), slugs and snails, and unidentified invertebrates. Among 30 vagrant shrews, S. vagrant,the five most important foods were insect larvae, slugs and snails, unidentified invertebrates,Endogone, and spiders. In 30 Pacific shrews, S. pacificus, the five most important foods were slugsand snails, centipedes, amphibian flesh, insect larvae, and unidentified invertebrates. In 27 Yaquinashrews, S. yaquinae, the five most important foods were invertebrate internal organs, unidentifiedinsect larvae, slugs and snails, coleopterous larvae, and unidentified invertebrates. Among 24 marshshrews, S. bendirii, the foods were insect larvae, slugs and snails, Ephemeroptera naiads, unidentifiedinvertebrates, and earthworms.
There is little information on the food habits of western shrews despite the followingstudies: (1) Trowbridge shrew—Jameson (1955); (2) Vagrant shrew—Broadbooks (1939),Eisenberg (1964), Maser (1966); (3) Pacific shrew—Maser and Hooven (1974); and (4)Marsh shrew—Langeman (1947), Pattie (1969). These studies forcused primarily on captiveindividuals. The purpose of this paper is to present information on the food habits of wildshrews in western Oregon. Because of unresolved taxonomic problems with shrews of the genusSorex in the Pacific Northwest, we are following the recommendations of Johnson and Ostenson(1959) with respect to their nomenclature.