PICAS AND HARES. 
J 93 
. ._ .. Hares, as all the members of the family save the rabbit are 
Distribution. . . . 
called, have an almost cosmopolitan distribution, although none are 
indigenous to Australasia. Of some thirty known species, by far the greater 
majority are, however, confined to the Northern Hemisphere; the whole of South 
America having only a single species, the Brazilian hare {Lepus brasiliensis). 
Habits With the exception of the rabbit and the curious hispid hare of 
Northern India, all the members of the family dwell either in open 
country among grass and other herbage, or among rocks and bushes. They are 
solitary; and each inhabits a particular spot known as its form ; such form being 
either a flattened resting-place among grass or bushes, or merely the sheltered side 
of some rock or stone. As a rule, a hare returns to its form, sometimes day by 
day, for a considerable portion of the year; but the situation is changed periodically. 
Hares are mainly nocturnal, going forth at evening in quest of food, and not 
returning to their forms till after sunrise. Their speed is great; but, owing to the 
great relative length of their hind-limbs, they are better adapted for running 
uphill than down. All the members of the genus are remarkable for their extreme 
timidity, and their long ears are admirably adapted to collect the least sound, and 
thus to give the earliest possible notice of danger. It will not fail to be observed 
that the ears are the shortest and the legs the less elongated in the rabbit and the 
hispid hare, both of which dwell in burrows, and have not, therefore, such need of 
protecting themselves by acuteness of hearing and extreme speed. All the members 
of the family breed with great rapidity; the young being able to reproduce their 
kind within about six months after birth. Whereas, however, the young of the 
true hares are born fully clothed with hair and with their eyes open, those of the 
rabbit, and probably also of the hispid hare, come into the world blind and naked. 
The Common Hare (Lepus europceus). 
Such a well-known animal as the common hare requires but a comparatively 
brief description, although it is necessary to point out such features as serve to 
distinguish it from the mountain-hare. The length of the head and body is 
generally a little short of 22 inches; the ears being rather longer than the head, 
with black tips. The general colour of the soft fur of the upper-parts and flanks 
is tawny grey, more or less mingled with rufous, but tending to a purer grey in 
winter than in summer. The under-parts are white; while the tail, of which the 
length is nearly equal to that of the head, is black above and white beneath. The 
usual weight is from 7 to 8 lbs. 
With the exception of the north of Russia, the Scandinavian 
Distribution. . 1 
Peninsula, and Ireland, the common hare is found over the whole of 
Europe, ranging as far eastwards as the Caucasus; but in the north of Scotland 
the species is confined to the low grounds and valleys. It may be mentioned 
here that this species is commonly alluded to under the name of Lepus tiviidus; 
that name was, however, applied by the Swedish naturalist Linne to the hares of 
his own country, and therefore clearly rightly belongs to the next species. In the 
more northern parts of its habitat the hare tends to become white in winter; while 
the maximum of rufous in its coloration occurs in the more southerly districts. 
vol. hi.— 13 
