MAMMALS OF UTAH 105 



not at hand the report will undoubtedly prove authentic. 

 I have taken specimens in City Creek Canyon within the 

 corporate limits of Salt Lake City. 



Habits — This large-footed hare prefers thick willow- 

 copses ; hence each individual passes its entire life in a glen 

 of only a few hundred yards radius. It is not very sociable 

 with others of its kind though of course not avoiding them. 

 It squeals when frightened. It mates early in March, the 

 nest being made usually under a labryinth of underbrush. 

 The young, usually two though sometimes three in number, 

 leave the nest after ten or twelve days and at three weeks 

 leave probably never to return. 



This rabbit feeds mostly after sundown or before sun- 

 rise. It dresses its coat after the manner of a housecat; 

 but is not so clean about its den which eventually becomes 

 a source of disease. Its broad feet permit travel in winter 

 as easily as in summer and hence it changes its habits little 

 with the seasons. During the summer it feeds on grass, 

 clover and other edible green things; but in winter it sub- 

 sists on dry grass, buds and the bark of poplar, birch, willow 

 and tamarac trees, as well as the leaves of white cedar and 

 spruce. 



COLORADO DESERT JACK RABBIT 



LEPUS CALIFORNICUS DESERTICOLA (Mearns) 



Lepus texianus deserticola Mearns, Proc. U. S. Nat. Mus. 

 XVIII, No. 1081, pp. 564-565, June 24, 1896. 



Description — Color in fresh winter pelage: Top of 

 head and back pale ash gray, often almost whitish, only 

 a little darkened by black tips to hairs, and often tinged 

 with pale buff; sides of head and body paler than back; 

 area about eyes pale buff or buffy white; front half of 

 ears varies from grayish cream buff to pale buffy gray; 

 posterior half of ears clear grayish white, usually with a 

 rather poorly defined blackish patch about an inch long at 

 tips (sometimes tbis patch nearly obsolete) ; the black area 

 not strongly marked about border of ears at extreme tip, 

 as in most other forms of this species; inside of ears bor- 

 dered on front edges with a fringe of long whitish hairs, at 

 tips by a narrow velvety border of buff, and along posterior 

 edges with white; inside of ears brownish gray near pos- 

 terior border and plain gray elsewhere; nape pale dull cin- 



