Descriptions of East Asiatic Mammals 207 
The Red-Tailed Hare, Lepus ruficaudatus, is a north Indian 
species found along the foothills of the Himalayas and into 
Assam. The color of the tail above is reddish brown, beneath 
white. There are 6 nipples. Two young are reputed born at a 
time ( ?). The length of the ear varies from 4% to 4% inches, 
of the hind foot (with claws) 4y 2 to 4% inches (Waterhouse). 
The Burmese Hare, Lepus peguensis, a lowland form, has 
the dorsal surface of the tail black, the general color of the body 
reddish gray mixed with black, becoming ashy on the rump. 
t The tips of the ears are black, the underparts white. The length 
of head and body is about 21 inches, the tail with terminal hair 
4 inches, the ear 4*4 inches, hind foot the same. This animal is 
known from southern Burma — the lower Irrawaddy Valley 
and the Thoungyin Valley, but not near the coast. 
The Assam Hare, Lepus sadiya, is colored much as L. pe- 
guensis but is paler, and the tail is suffused with reddish. The 
tops of the hind feet are white. It occurs in northeast Assam. 
THE PIKAS, MOUSE HARES OR WHISTLING HARES 
(family OCHOTONID^) 
The Pikas are soft-furred animals from 6 to 9 inches long, 
somewhat like tiny Rabbits, with short rounded ears ; they look 
perhaps even more like large tailless meadow mice. The hind 
legs, compared with those of the Hares, are short. The toe pads 
appear as naked black spots in the midst of the densely hairy 
soles. The tail is nearly obsolete. 
The word "Pika" is derived from Peeka, a. word of the 
Tunguric dialect of Siberia. Pikas are found from Europe to 
Japan and in eastern Asia from northern Siberia to the Hima- 
layas and northern Burma. They occur also in western North 
America. In the southern part of their range, the Himalayas, 
they are found only in the mountains, from 8000 to 18,000 feet, 
but in northern Siberia and in Sakhalin they descend nearly to 
