1936] 



MAMMALS OF OREGON 



107 



240 rabbits in his spare time during July around the edges of his 

 20-acre rye field. Drives and hunts have been referred to above. 



Poisoning is generally considered the most effective means of 

 combating rabbit pests, but this must be done with great care to 

 avoid the danger of killing domestic stock, especially in winter when 

 the rabbits are most effectively destroyed by poisoned alfalfa around 

 the stacks. Poisoning is best carried on under the directions of 

 experts of the Biological Survey rodent-control force in cooperation 

 with the local county agents. 



SYLVILAGUS NUTTALLII NUTTALLII (BAOHMAN) 

 OREGON COTTONTAIL; SAGEBRUSH COTTONTAIL; TA-PU-OO of the Piute 



Lepus vwttallii Bachman, Jour. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila. 7 : 345, 1837. 

 Lepiis artemisia Bachman, Jour. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila. 8 : 94, 1839. Type from 

 Walla Walla, Wash. 



Type. Collected in eastern Oregon (near Vale), by Thomas Nuttall in 1834. 



General characters. Size medium for a cottontail, ears rather long; tail 

 large and cottony below. Winter fur, upper parts light cinnamon gray, dark- 

 ened by black tipped hairs; 

 sides and rump ashy gray; 

 nape, throat, and legs clear 

 cinnamon ; upper edgfes of 

 ears blackish ; lower side of 

 tail, belly, chin, inside of legs, 

 and top of feet white; soles 

 brownish. Summer coat 

 darker and duller. Young, 

 fur soft and fuzzy, finer and 

 more buffy gray than in 

 adults. 



Measurement s. Total 

 length, 352 mm ; tail, 44 ; foot, 

 90; ear (dry), inside, 60, out- 

 side, 70. Weight of adults 

 about 2 pounds. Dice (1926, 

 p. 18) gives 2 males as 768 

 and 737 g; 4 females as 868, 

 916, 923, and 985 g. 



Distribution and habitat. These cottontails are generally common 

 over the open sagebrush valley country of Oregon east of the Cas- 

 cades, mainly in Upper Sonoran Zone, but also in places extending 

 slightly into the open edges of Transition Zone. They evidently 

 also extend into the Rogue River Valley where Luther J. Goldman 

 reported them near Ashland and collected a half-grown specimen 

 (fig. 16). 



Generally they are found near rocks or cliffs where safe cover is 

 afforded from a host of enemies or else in or near thick brush or 

 some protecting cover. The numerous lava flows of east Oregon 

 afford endless chains of rimrock, escarpments, and rocky slopes 

 where they find safe retreats from which to forage out as far as 

 brushy cover will afford protection. 



General habits. These little rabbits are not very fleet and are 

 well aware of their disadvantage before coyotes, foxes, bobcats, or 

 even the common yellow dog, In a country of badgers and skunks 



FIGURE 16. Range of the brush rabbit and cotton- 

 tail in Oregon : l,Sylvilagu8 bachmani ubericolor; 

 2, S. nuttallii nuttallii. Type locality circled. 



