Mammals Active at night

Asian House Shrew

Suncus murinus

iNaturalist Wikipedia

Meet the 'jingling' insect-hunter of the backyard. The Asian House Shrew is a tiny powerhouse that uses its incredible sense of smell and 'caravan' family marches to thrive in our urban world.

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Quick Identification

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Size

Head-body length of 10-15 cm (4-6 in), tail length of 5-10 cm (2-4 in); weight range of 50-150g (1.8-5.3 oz)

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Colors

Uniform slate grey to brownish-grey velvety fur; slightly paler underparts; pinkish-grey snout and feet

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Key Features

Elongated, twitching snout with prominent sensory whiskers
Thick, tapering tail with scattered long hairs
Small, beady eyes and visible rounded ears
Strong musky odor produced by scent glands on the flanks

When You’ll See Them

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Activity pattern Active at night

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Peak hours 8 PM - 4 AM

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Season Year-round

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Diet Primarily insectivorous, focusing on cockroaches, crickets, and spiders, but will also eat earthworms, small lizards, and household food scraps.

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Habitat Suburban gardens, household crawlspaces, agricultural fields, and urban areas near human dwellings.

public Geographic range

Where Does the Asian House Shrew Live?

The Asian House Shrew is native to the vast tropical and subtropical landscapes of South and Southeast Asia, with a core range extending from India and Sri Lanka across to Southern China and Indonesia. Due to its habit of hitching rides on trade ships, it has successfully established invasive populations across East Africa, the Middle East, and numerous islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It thrives wherever humans settle, making it one of the most widely distributed shrew species in the world.

Basemap © OpenStreetMap contributors

12 Countries

25M km² Range

Least Concern Conservation

IN India CN China Vietnam TH Thailand ID Indonesia

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iNaturalist / Verified observation data

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Behavior

The Asian House Shrew is a high-energy, vocal mammal often mistaken for a rodent. Unlike mice, it is an insectivore with a voracious appetite, driven by a lightning-fast metabolism that requires it to eat nearly its body weight every day. It is famously known for its 'clinking' or 'jingling' vocalizations, which sound remarkably like small coins hitting each other. While solitary and territorial by nature, they have adapted perfectly to human environments, often taking up residence in gardens, kitchens, and warehouses where insects are plenty.

One of their most remarkable social behaviors is 'caravanning.' When a mother moves her nest, the young shrews form a line behind her, each one firmly grasping the base of the tail of the sibling in front of them with its mouth. This creates a miniature 'shrew train' that allows the family to travel together without losing any members in the dark. Despite their somewhat aggressive reputation toward insects and small lizards, they are generally shy around humans and will use their potent musky scent to deter predators like cats.

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Camera Tips

To capture the Asian House Shrew on camera, you need to think low. These mammals spend their entire lives at ground level, so your camera should be mounted no more than 2 to 4 inches (5-10 cm) off the ground. Instead of pointing the camera into an open yard, aim it along 'edges'—the base of a wall, a fence line, or the perimeter of a garden shed. Shrews use their whiskers to navigate and almost always travel with one side of their body touching a vertical surface.

Baiting is highly effective for this species due to their constant need for calories. A small amount of strong-smelling wet cat food, a piece of dried fish, or even peanut butter mixed with mealworms will stop a shrew in its tracks. Place the bait exactly in the center of your camera’s focal point. Because they move with quick, jerky motions, set your camera to 'Burst Mode' or high-speed video to ensure you don't end up with just a blurry tail in the frame. A fast trigger speed of 0.2 to 0.5 seconds is ideal.

Don't forget the audio! If your trail camera records sound, look for clips where you hear high-pitched metallic clicking. This is often the first sign that a shrew is nearby before it enters the frame. If you are lucky enough to be recording during the breeding season, keep the camera running for several minutes; if you see one shrew, there is a high probability a 'caravan' of several more will follow seconds later in a single-file line.

Similar Species

Species that look similar or are commonly confused with Asian House Shrew.

House Mouse

Mice have larger ears, larger eyes, and a shorter, blunter snout compared to the shrew's pointed nose.

Brown Rat

Rats are significantly larger and have a thick, scaly tail, whereas the shrew's tail is fleshier at the base and covered in fine hairs.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Asian House Shrews are primarily nocturnal, meaning they are most active under the cover of darkness. While they may occasionally emerge during the day in quiet, shaded gardens, their peak activity occurs between 8 PM and 4 AM.

The best way to attract them is to provide a natural habitat. Avoid using pesticides, as this maintains their food source of cockroaches and crickets. Providing leaf litter, woodpiles, or dense ground cover gives them the security they need to forage.

They are insectivores that act as natural pest control. Their diet consists mostly of insects like cockroaches, crickets, and beetles, but they are opportunistic and will also eat earthworms, small lizards, and even kitchen scraps if left accessible.

Yes, they are highly commensal, meaning they thrive near humans. They are very common in suburban gardens, where they find ample food and shelter in crawlspaces, under porches, and in thick shrubbery.

Unlike a house mouse, the Asian House Shrew has a long, pointed, highly mobile snout and much smaller, beadier eyes. It also has velvety grey fur and produces a very distinct musky smell, whereas mice have larger ears and a more brownish coat.

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