Varying Hare Lepus americanus 'virgimanus 

 In Winter Dress. 



feet are provided with long hairs which produce a 

 snow shoe efifect. In winter the creature is a snow white 

 color, while in the summer it assumes a color varying 

 from a grayish to a reddish brown. It is commonly 

 supposed thatthe hairs turn color with approaching 

 seasons, but it has been definitely established that the 

 changes appear with moulting. 



The varying hares are chiefly nocturnal in their 

 habits and rest during the day in crudely made beds of 

 grass or in depressions in snow. Their activities in- 

 crease in the early spring when mating begins. Fre- 

 quently, during the mating season a number of males 

 congregate in the same place and indulge in bitter 

 fights. When disturbed they thump the ground with 

 their hind feet as do most members of this group, 

 -*.>l ISO ><?<- 



