494 RODENTIA 
(as in Fig. 218), with the exception of the tips of the ears, which 
remain black. In Ireland no winter change of colour takes place. 
The Rabbit (L. cuniculus), speaking of the wild race only, is 
distinguished from the Hare externally by its smaller size, shorter 
ears and feet, the absence or reduction of the black patch at 
the tip of the ears so characteristic of the Hare, and by its grayer 
colour. The skull is smaller and lighter, with a slenderer muzzle 
and a longer and narrower palate. Besides these characters, how- 
ever, the Rabbit is sharply separated from the Hare by the fact that 
it brings forth its young naked, blind, and helpless; to compensate 
Fic, 219.—The Rabbit (Lepus cuniculus). 
for this, it digs a deep burrow in the earth in which they are born 
and reared, while the young of the Hare are born fully clothed with 
fur, and able to take care of themselves in the “form” in which they 
are born. The weight of the Rabbit is from 24 to 3 Ibs., although 
individuals perfectly wild have been recorded up to more than 5 lbs. 
Its general habits are too well known to need a detailed description 
here. It breeds from four to eight times a year, bringing forth 
each time from three to eight young. Its period of gestation is 
about thirty days, and it begins to breed when six months old. 
Tt attains to an age of about seven or eight years. 
The geographical distribution of the Rabbit presents many most 
interesting peculiarities. It is believed to be originally a native of 
the western half of the Mediterranean basin only, and still abounds 
in Spain, Sardinia, Southern Italy, Sicily, Greece, Tunis, and Algeria ; 
and many of the Islands adjoining these countries are quite overrun 
