THE HARE FAMILY. 289 



HARES (LEPORIDAE). 



The Hares are distinguished by their elongated hind 

 limbs, short recurved tails, long ears, imperfect collar- 

 bones, and large full eyes devoid of eyelids. 



The frontal region of the skull is very narrow in all 

 species of the Leporidae, and they have three pairs of 

 premolar teeth in the upper, and two in the lower jaw. 

 With the exception of one species, all the members of 

 this family are very much alike in appearance and color- 

 ization, the upper parts usually being a mixture of grey and 

 reddish brown, in which the grey or red predominates to 

 harmonize with the general appearance of the habitat of 

 the species. 



With the exception of Australia, native hares are 

 found in every part of the globe, although most of the 

 species are confined to the Northern Hemisphere. The 

 Brazilian Hare is the only member of the family found 

 in South America. With the exception of the Rabbit and 

 the Hispid Hare of Northern India, all species of Hares 

 dwell in the open country in the grass and herbage or 

 among the rocks and bushes. 



Richard Lydecker says: "Hares are solitary; and 

 each inhabits a particular spot known as its form; such 

 form being a flattened resting-place among grass or 

 bushes, or merely the sheltered side of some rock or stone. 

 A hare will return to its form, as a rule, day by 

 day, for a considerable portion of the year; but the situa- 

 tion is changed periodically. Hares are mainly nocturnal, 

 going forth at evening in quest of food, and not returning 

 to their forms till after sunrise. Their speed is great; 

 but, owing to the great relative length of their hind- 

 limbs, they are better adapted for running uphill than 

 down. All the members of the genus are remarkable for 

 their extreme timidity, and their long ears are admirably 

 adapted to collect the least sound, and thus to give the 

 earliest possible notice of danger. It will be observed that 

 the ears are shortest and the legs are less elongated in 

 the rabbit and the hispid hare than the other species. Both 

 of these dwell in burrows, and have not, therefore, such 



