94 NEW-YORK FAUNA. 
the accounts of previous naturalists, he appears to have confounded its history with the fol-’ 
lowing species: Cheeks full of thick hair. “ Ears thin externally, with few hairs, naked within, 
and when bent forward, do not reach the nose ; when bent backwards, they reach the shoulder 
blades. Eyes large and black, with 4 —5 bristles above them. Whiskers mostly black ; 
some are white; the longest appears to reach beyond the head. Color in summer: Kars 
brownish, with a very narrow black border on the outer margin, of the same breadth to the 
tips, or becomes effaced; brown cheeks, back and sides; fore and hind legs light brown 
externally, mixed with black ; all round the breech, white. Feet full of short hair of a light 
‘brown, unmixed with black, changing towards the inside to a grey white. Upper part of the 
tail like that of the back, (perhaps mixed with black, as Pennant describes it black ;) beneath 
white. Throat white; lower part of the neck bright brown, mixed with white; chest and 
belly, inside of fore and hind legs, white. Color in winter, when it does change, white. 
According to Foster, Pennant and Schcepff, the most remarkable distinctions of this species 
are, 1, his size: It.is not by any means as large as the common and changeable hare, and 
scarcely larger than a rabbit; hence he is frequently called rabbit in America. 2, the pro- 
portion of his legs; the hind feet being longer, and the fore feet shorter than in the others. 
3, the color and length of ears: it has a black margin outside, but no black mark at the tip, 
and the length is less than that of the common hare. 4, the upper side of the tail is not so 
black as in that species. 5, the color of its body. 6, its mode of living and habits: It can 
therefore only be a distinct species. Length 18 inches ; tail scarcely more than two.. Found 
from Hudson’s Bay to Florida. In winter, his short hair changes into a long silky fur, white 
from the roots. The border of the ear, and upper part of the tail, unchanging. In the’southern 
part of the State of New-York, and the Southern States, he does not change his color, and 
might therefore be called the half-changing hare. 
The whole history of the habits of this species, and its abundance, sufficiently confirms the 
fact that Schreber had our Rabbit in view, although he was misled by Schcepff and Pennant, 
and confounded two species. We think that in this latter particular, Erxleben has also been 
in error. > Ake 
_ The American Grey Rabbit changes but little with the season, except that the fur is longer 
and finer, and exhibits a slight tendency to white. Prof. Emmons speaks of having seen them 
distinctly grey in Massachusetts, and Dr. Bachman has seen them in Carolina of a light iron 
grey. Itis a timid, inoffensive creature ; and were it not for its excessive vigilance, and its 
astonishing powers of reproduction, would soon be extirpated. Indeed we have reason to 
believe that this actually does happen in certain districts ; when their enemies, having nothing 
to feed upon, also disappear ; and after a certain period, the rabbit again resorts to its former 
haunts, and, undisturbed for some time, increases again in numbers. Beside man, it has 
many other enemies. In the northern and western part of the State, it is the favorite food of 
the two lynxes. It is also destroyed by the New-York weasel, the skunk, and by hawks, 
owls and serpents. 
Its food consists of bark, buds, grass, wild berries, etc.; and in cultivated districts, it is 
said to enter gardens and destroy vegetables. Unlike its congeners, it does not confine itself 
