Out of the 10 species of shrew in Sri Lanka this is the most common shrew. Different subspecies take on a color that varies from a bluish –grey to a blackish brown. It’s long pointed mobile snout has number of long hairs that helps it detect prey in the dark and is very sensitive to touch. Very commonly seen in houses in large cities and are distributed island wide. It gets its name musk shrew because of the odor it emits from scent glands on its flanks. They feed on gecko, small lizards, worms, insects, spiders and small mammals that are larger than they are and are nocturnal animals.