ZOOLOGY. 
65 
most common species. Near San Francisco it is less abundant than Trowbridge’s and Audu¬ 
bon’s rabbits and the Californian hare, but as we proceeded to the north we left these species 
behind us—the first two immediately after quitting Benicia, t-lie last in the hills of northern 
California—while the sage rabbit continued with us into a new zoological district, where nearly 
all his associates were different from those below. From the Cascade mountains it ranges east¬ 
ward nearly to the Mississippi. 
The sage rabbit is considerably smaller than the common grey rabbit of the eastern States, 
and his color is generally lighter, rather a blue than red grey, with a characteristic patch of 
light red thin fur on the nape of the neck. They are very numerous on the sage plains, and 
are hunted by foxes, coyotes, eagles, hawks, owls, and Indians. 
I obtained a fine specimen on the extreme headwaters of the Willamette river, at an eleva¬ 
tion of about 5,000 feet, which had been struck by hawk or owl and killed, but the murderer 
had left him, perhaps frightened off at our approach. The flesh of the sage rabbit is white 
and good, not at all flavored by the artemisia among which he lives. 
Specimens were collected on Rhett and Klamath lakes. 
LEPUS AUDUBONII, Baird. 
Audubon’s Hare. 
Baird, Gen. Eep. Mammals, 1857, 608. 
Sp. Cii. —Size a little less than that of L. sylvaticus. Ears longer than, the head. Hind feet rather short, longer than 
the ears ; fully furred beneath. Tail rather long. Above, mixed yellowish brown and black, paler on the sides and throat, 
Beneath, pure white. Thighs and rump greyish. Back of neck rusty ; fore legs somewhat similar. Hairs lead color at 
the base, on the middle of the back, (over the loins,) passing directly through dark brown to black, then yellowish brown ; 
on the sides, rump, and fore part of back, the passage iuto the first brown or black ring is through greyish, yellowish, or 
reddish brown. 
This handsome bare is widely distributed over the west. It is the largest of the “rabbits” of 
California, considerably exceeding in size the artemisia and Trowbridge’s. It is killed some¬ 
what abundantly in the hills bordering the Sacramento valley, and is usually to be found in the 
market of San Francisco, where I obtained specimens. 
It is about the size of the grey rabbit of the east, (L. sylvaticus ,) and tlie colors are similar, 
though that of Audubon’s hare may be called a yellowish, while that of the eastern rabbit 
is a brownish, grey. 
LEPUS TROWBRIDGII, Baird. 
Lepus trowbridyii, Baird, Pr. A. N. Sc. Phila. VU, April, 1855, 333.,—In. Gen. Hep. Mammals, 1857, 610. 
Sp. Cii. —Size small, less that of L. audahonii. Head small. Ears about equal to it in length. Tail very short, almost 
rudimentary ; hind feet very short, well furred, considerably shorter than the head. Color above, yellowish brown and 
dark brown; beneath, plumbeous grey. Sides not conspicuously different from the back, but paler. Back of neck pale rusty. 
Ears greyish and black on the external hand ; ashy grey elsewhere, with little indication of darker margin or tip. 
This pretty rabbit was first obtained by Lieut. Trowbridge, U. S. A., a gentleman who has 
done, perhaps, more than any other individual to develop the natural history of the Pacific 
coast, and to him Professor Baird has very appropriately dedicated the species. This species is 
quite common in the market of San Francisco, being killed in that vicinity, and is the smallest 
of all the rabbits which are found there. It is readily distinguishable by the remarkable short¬ 
ness of its legs; its colors are darker than those of Bachman’s hare or the sage rabbit, and 
there can be no doubt that it is a perfectly distinct species. Of its habits I could learn nothing 
of interest. I saw it frequently in the scattered bushes on the saud hills back of the city of San 
Francisco, where it resembled in movements and appearance the immature L. sylvaticus. 
9 BB 
