MOUNTAIN HARE. 339 



about 55 north latitude, and in Eastern Prussia. South 

 of this it inhabits the whole chain of the Alps and their 

 dependant ranges, the Pyrenees, and, according to Mene- 

 tries, the higher peaks of the Caucasus. In the Faeroes 

 Herr Miiller states that two pairs were introduced into 

 Strom 6 in 1854, and their descendants may already be 

 counted by thousands. Like the common Hare, it has 

 been divided into several species, which we believe must 

 be regarded merely as climatic races. Of these Blasius 

 has distinguished three forms ; first, that inhabiting the 

 warmer low-grounds, as in southern Sweden and Ireland, 

 and not changing colour in winter ; secondly, the ordinary 

 type of the Alps and of North Europe generally, grey in 

 summer and pure white in winter; and, lastly, the polar 

 form, said to be found in the extreme north of Scandinavia 

 and Russia, which is white all the year round. The first 

 of these varieties is the L. canescens of Nilsson and the 

 L. hibernicus of Yarrell, while the last is Nilsson's 

 L. borealis. 



In Britain the Mountain Hare is found throughout 

 the greater part of Scotland and the whole of Ireland ; 

 in the former country it is usually known as the " Blue 

 Hare." It is extremely plentiful in most parts of the 

 Highlands north of the Forth, and of late years it 

 has been introduced into some of the hilly districts of 

 Peebleshire, Lanarkshire and Ayrshire, where it is worthy 

 of remark that the annual change of colour is much less 

 regular and complete than in the north. It appears to 

 have been formerly a native of the Orkneys, as noticed 

 by Sir Robert Sibbald and in a manuscript of the seven- 

 teenth century quoted by Messrs. Baikieand Heddle ; but 

 it is now quite extinct in these islands, although found in 

 many of the Hebrides. 



We have already stated that this species does not change 



