MAMMALS OF UTAH 99 



same creamy buff, darkened by an overlying wash of black ; 

 rump patch iron gray ; top of tail dull buff y brownish ; un- 

 der side white; sides of head and body dull buffy gray, 

 much paler and grayer than back ; nape light rusty rufous ; 

 front and sides of fore legs bright, almost orange, rufous, 

 varying to a slightly darker and more cinnamon rufous, 

 but like hind legs averaging much brighter rufous in pinetis 

 and shading into a paler, more rusty buffy on tops of fore 

 feet; back and outside of lower hind legs similar to front 

 of fore legs, but rufous deeper and richer; outside of hind 

 feet more or less strongly shaded with rusty; tops of hind 

 feet white, underlaid with a tinge of rusty buffy ; underside 

 of neck dull creamy buffy, varying to a dull ochraceous 

 buffy, with a wash or grayish on surface; rest of under 

 parts pure white; sides of neck dull grayish creamy buff 

 underlaid and tinged with a dull reddish brown, ears dull 

 grayish, edged about terminal third with black. Worn pe- 

 lage: Upper parts bleached to grayish white, underlaid by 

 varying shades of the buffy brown underfur, which often 

 give badly worn specimens a much darker or browner ap- 

 pearance, very different from freshly pelaged ones ; legs av- 

 erage brighter rufous ; outside of ears duller and browner ; 

 nape deeper and richer rusty ; rump patch less distinct. Post- 

 juvenal pelage: Darker and more grizzled grayish buffy 

 than adults, with rump patch much less distinct; sides of 

 body only slightly grayer than back ; legs bright rufous, as 

 in adults. Juvenal pelage: Dark dull grayish buffy; 

 rather darker than in the young of pinetis; nape and legs 

 duller and paler rusty, often becoming rusty buffy on legs 

 and feet. (Nelson.) 



Distribution — Western South Dakota, most of Montana 

 and Wyoming; most of the sagebrush plains of Idaho, Ne- 

 vada, mountains of middle eastern California; most of 

 Utah; northwestern Colorado, north into Canada. Speci- 

 mens have been taken in Utah at Bear Lake, Henry moun- 

 tains. Helper, Ogden Hot Springs, Laketown, Nephi, Ogden, 

 Panguitch, and upper Kanab. 



Habits — Meek and timid in nature, the cottontail is 

 nevertheless one of the most interesting animals of the 

 woods. Rabbits in general vary little among themselves, 

 but are, however, sharply separated from other species of 

 the gnawing tribe. The soles of a rabbit's feet are not 

 bare like those of most rodents ; but are covered with hair — 

 a fact which accounts for the lack of sharp definition in 

 their footprints. Behind the two big front teeth of the 

 rabbit's upper jaw are another pair of small teeth, which 



