HARES. 431 



Tho L. washinytonii takes the place of the common 

 American hare, of which it is a variety, west of the Rocky 

 Mountains, and is there very abundant. The ears are 

 shorter than the head, but the hind-feet are longer, while 

 the tail is very short. The back, sides, and throat are a 

 reddish-brown; the abdomen is pure white; and the tail 

 is a lead color above, and a rusty white beneath. It is a 

 handsome specimen of its family, and occupies a position 

 between the Lepus americanus and the wood hare, L. syl- 

 vaticus; but it is readily distinguished from" the latter by 

 its smaller size and shorter ears, which are reddish exter- 

 nally. It turns white in winter. 



The Lepus campestris, or prairie hare, is one of the 

 largest of the American Leporidce, and is the only species 

 of the long -eared hares that turns white in winter. Its 

 ears are about one-fifth longer than the head ; the tail is 

 as long as the head, and the hind-feet are longer. Its sum- 

 mer color is a pale yellowish-gray above, a white beneath, 

 and the tail is all white. It attains various degrees of 

 weight and length, according to its habitat; but it is no 

 unusual event to find one over two feet long, and having 

 a tail exceeding five inches, while its weight reaches from 

 ten to twelve pounds. 



The California hare (Z. calif ornicus), which is hunted a 

 great deal with greyhounds, is also very large, the ears and 

 the hind-feet being longer than the head, while the tail is as 

 long. Its color varies much, but in summer it may be said 

 to be a bright cinnamon red, mixed with some black, the un- 

 der parts being a pale cinnamon. The tail is black above, 

 and of a light cinnamon hue below. It attains a length of 

 twenty-five inches, and its hind-foot is over five inches long. 



The ubiquitous cotton-tail, or gray rabbit (I*, sylvaticus), 

 has ears two -thirds the length of the head. It is the 

 largest of the short-eared hares, its length often reaching 

 eighteen inches, and its weight varying from two to three 

 pounds. The coating is of a lead color, the extreme tips 

 being a blackish -brown, and the under part of the tail a 

 cottony white. 



