340 LEPORID^l. 



colour in Ireland. The Hare of that country was de- 

 scribed by our late friend Mr. Yarrell in the " Proceedings 

 of the Zoological Society " for 1833, under the name of 

 L. hibernicus, and was treated of under that name in our 

 first edition ; our original illustration of the head of this 

 form is repeated beneath. Its identity with L. variabilis, 

 which was first pointed out by Blasius in 1841, is now 

 fully established, and the comparative uniformity of its 

 summer and winter tints must be attributed solely to the 

 mildness of the Irish climate. 



Intermediate in size between the Common Hare and 

 the Rabbit, this species differs from them both in its 

 habits. It makes no burrows like the latter, but hides in 

 clefts of rocks or among large stones. It has not the 

 swiftness of the Common Hare, nor does it associate in 

 warrens like the Rabbit. Its ordinary food is similar to 

 that of the other species, but it also feeds in winter on 

 various kinds of lichens, and on the seeds of different sorts 

 of pines. As that season approaches it usually leaves its 

 high summer residence, and descends in search of a more 



