MAMMALS. 83 



capable of running, and thus differ widely from those 

 of the Rabbit. If alarmed, however, they do not run 

 away, but behave like Partridges and other ground 

 birds separating and then squatting motionless on 

 the ground. An inhabitant of open country, the 

 Hare is found not only on the lowland meadows, but 

 often on upland fields and moorlands at a considerable 

 elevation, and occasionally even in woods which it 

 enters in winter to feed on the grass which keeps 

 green and edible in the shelter of the trees longer 

 than it does in the exposed fields. As a rule the 

 food of the Hare consists of grass, corn, turnips, and 

 in fact all kinds of field crops, and it seldom comes 

 abroad to feed till the evening. In travelling to and 

 from its form and feeding grounds the Hare wears well- 

 marked tracks, or paths, in the grass, and advantage is 

 taken of its habit of always following the same route to 

 trap it by placing wire nooses in the track. The Hare 

 runs its head into the noose and quickly strangles itself 

 by struggling to escape. The eyes are placed very wide 

 apart on the sides of the head ; they have large oblong 

 pupils, and their peculiar position enables the Hare to 

 see a dog advancing towards it from behind, while it is 

 able to see anything on either side better than immedi- 

 ately in front. This is obvious if the Hare is running 

 along a road towards a pedestrian, for it invariably 

 comes straight towards him till within a few yards, 

 when it will suddenly turn off through a gap in the 

 fence on one side or the other. Its sense of hearing is 

 very acute, and on the approach of danger it erects its 

 long ears and turns them rapidly in all directions to 

 detect the whereabouts of its enemy. The colour of 



