310 MAMMALS 



abundance in all parts of this great area it is one of the 

 most familiar of our wild mammals. It lives in fields over- 

 grown with briers, among brush heaps, in wild plum 

 thickets, along hedgerows, on the borders of woods, etc. 

 Under ordinar^y conditions, a rabbit hollows out and 

 smooths a place, called a "form," in some tuft of thick 

 grass and passes its time here iluring the da}'. Its fur 

 blends nicely with the dea<l oi' dying grass stems and the 

 form furnishes a good hiding place. Sometimes rabbits 

 enter burrows of other animals when hard pressed by their 

 enemies, and occasionally they rest in hollow logs. In the 

 winter they secure protection beneath brush piles and other 

 shelters. 



They are exceedingly timid creatures and have no effec- 

 tive organs of defense although they can scratch ciuite 

 severely with their claws. They depend upon their senses 

 of sight and hearing to detect their enemies and then upon 

 their legs to escape. The color of the hair aids them in 

 escaping observation 



