The crowned shrew is a medium-sized shrew with three areas of color on its back, sides, and underside. In northern Iberia, it searches for small invertebrates in forests and open places with moist soil.
Its back is generally dark brown, its sides have lighter bands, and its underside is grayish. This three-color pattern is a useful identifying feature.
It feeds mainly on small invertebrates found on or in the soil. In northern Iberia it occurs in forests and open habitats, but needs moist soil.
An extinction-risk assessment has not been added yet.