California mammals

Ornate shrew in California

Sorex ornatus

Native to California SNR Unranked in California

Not listed as nonindigenous in California by USGS NAS; native to its California range.

IUCN Red List status

  1. LC
  2. NT
  3. VU
  4. EN
  5. CR
  6. EW
  7. EX

LC – Least Concern

Widespread and abundant; not at risk.

Ornate shrew seen from behind standing free on bare dry soil, dark gray-brown fur and long thin tail visibleOrnate shrew in a clear photo container showing pointed snout and dark gray-brown fur
Photo: Anne Parsons · CC0Ornate shrew seen from behind standing free on bare dry soil, dark gray-brown fur and long thin tail visiblePhoto: Zack Abbey · CC BY 4.0Ornate shrew in a clear photo container showing pointed snout and dark gray-brown fur

Ornate shrew in California, by the numbers

Occasional in California 89th most recorded of 241 mammals logged in California

1,654 occurrence records
92 with iNaturalist photos

Records from 2000–2026.

1,654 total records count every California occurrence from GBIF and iNaturalist; the map plots a georeferenced sample of 300; the monthly chart covers the 1,638 records with a full observation date.

When to look for the Ornate shrew in California

Most sightings fall in March to July.

1,638 California occurrence records (iNaturalist and GBIF) by month of year, 2000–2026. Shows when the species is recorded, not a guarantee of presence.

Monthly California records (table)
MonthRecords
January163
February87
March143
April180
May151
June149
July138
August100
September158
October88
November176
December105

Monthly ornate shrew occurrence records (iNaturalist and GBIF) in California, 2000–2026.

Seasonality

Year-round in California, with recorded sightings peaking in March–July, with a smaller rise in September and November.

Occurrence map

Where Ornate shrew has been recorded in California

300 records mapped · zoom and drag to explore

300 California records mapped

Notable places to look

Park, forest, or monumentiNaturalist records
Hastings Natural History Reserve 21
South Fork Wildlife Area 11
Russell Research Station (UC) 6
Ballona Wetlands Ecological Reserve 5
University of California Botanical Garden at Berkeley 5
Salinas River State Beach 5
Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area 4
San Jacinto Wilderness 4

Protected places with the most ornate shrew sightings, from the USGS Protected Areas Database plus named mountain ranges, good spots to look, not a full breakdown, so they don't sum to the total.

Where it's recorded in California

CountyRecords
Contra Costa County 268
San Diego County 258
Monterey County 152
Kern County 137
Santa Barbara County 129
Solano County 107
Los Angeles County 95
San Bernardino County 79
Mariposa County 62
Orange County 47
Riverside County 39
San Mateo County 32
26 other counties 249

The complete county distribution, spread across 38 California counties. Every occurrence record falls in one county, so these sum to the total. Counties from GBIF and US Census boundaries.

California’s combined state files contain 1,725 Ornate shrew records: 92 from iNaturalist and 1,633 from GBIF. It ranks 146th among 243 mammals in this California record comparison, placing it in the middle third. That’s a ranking of submitted records, not a head count of animals.

The monthly series reaches its high point in April, with 70 records in the busiest month. Records appear in 12 of 12 months, so the pattern shows when sightings were documented, not when the species must be present or absent.

California accounts for about 97% of the mapped GBIF records summarized on the national Ornate shrew page. That’s a large share of the known record footprint, though differences in survey effort can strongly shape the percentage.

Occurrence data from iNaturalist and GBIF.

Ornate shrew seen from behind standing free on bare dry soil, dark gray-brown fur and long thin tail visible
Full species profile Ornate shrew Sorex ornatus Size 5.7 cm2.2 in Weight 6 g0.2 oz Lifespan Up to 1.5 yr View the full profile

More mammals in California in the atlas

Data & sources

The data and visualizations on this page draw on these open sources:

  • GBIFCC-BY 4.0occurrence records behind the range map, elevation, and record counts
  • iNaturalistCC0 / CC-BY / CC-BY-SAobservations, photos, and audio recordings
  • NatureServe ExplorerCC-BYthe state conservation rank
  • IUCN Red Listattributed factthe global conservation status
  • USGS NASpublic domainnative / introduced status
  • Natural Earthpublic domainthe relief basemap
  • USFSpublic domainnational-forest boundaries
  • USGS Protected Areas Databasepublic domainthe named parks, forests, and refuges behind "notable places to look"