THE LIVING WORLD. 
491 
face toward the tip black, the rest of ashy-brown ; fur lead-colored at the base. 
This is among the largest of the short-eared leporidse of America, being the 
largest in the west and the smallest and coarsest-haired south; it is found 
almost throughout the United States, from the southern parts of New Hamp¬ 
shire to Florida, and west of the upper Missouri, being most abundant in 
sandy regions covered with pines. It also frequents woods and thickets, con¬ 
cealing itself in its form, in thick bushes, or in holes in trees or under stones 
by day, coming out at night to feed. It is fond of visiting clover and corn¬ 
fields, vegetable gardens and nurseries of young trees, where it does much 
mischief. It does not burrow like the European rabbit, and comes rather in 
the class of hares; when pursued it will run with great swiftness and with 
doublings to its hole in a tree or rock. Though it will breed in enclosed warrens, 
it does not become tame, and has not been domesticated. 
It is very prolific, or else it would be exterminated by its numerous ene¬ 
mies. It often runs into the hole of the woodchuck, skunk, fox or weasel; 
in the last three cases frequently being a victim to the carnivorous inhabitant 
of the burrow. It is hunted with dogs, shot from its form and caught in 
snares and traps; its flesh is much esteemed. It somewhat resembles the 
European rabbit in its gray color, but it does not change its dress like the 
latter; it is furthermore smaller and more slender. 
The Pikas constitute the genus of the family leporidse, which includes the 
tailless hares. The pikas have no visible tail, the ears are short and rounded, 
the hind legs short, the molars five in each corner of the mouth, the feet 
densely clothed in fur, except small naked pads at the end of the toes. The 
pikas are of small size, the largest not surpassing a Guinea-pig. They are 
found only in Alpine or sub-Alpine districts, where they live in burrows or 
among loose stones remaining quiet by day and feeding at night. The food 
consists of herbage of different kinds, which they store up in little piles in 
autumn for winter consumption. When feeding they often utter a chirping or 
whistling noise. 
The Alpine Pika (. Lagomys alpinus ) is about nine and one half inches 
long, with long and soft fur grayish next the skin ; general color above gray¬ 
ish-brown, below yellowish-gray; feet pale with a. yellowish tinge; the ears 
margined with white. It inhabits Siberia from the river Irtysch to Kamtchatlca. 
The Pigmy Pika {Lagomys pusillus), from southern Siberia and the Ural, 
mountains, is six and three-fourth inches long, of a general brownish tint 
pencilled with black and brownish-yellow ; feet and under parts yellowish-white. 
Other species'are found in Hindoostan {Lagomys ogotona), some of them 
6000 or 8000 feet above the level of the sea. 
The Rocky Mountain Pika, or Little Chief Hare {Lago?nys princeps ), is 
about seven inches long ; the general color is grayish above, yellowish-brown on 
the sides, and yellowish-white below. It is found along the Rocky Mountains 
from latitude 42 0 to 6o° north. It frequents heaps of loose stones, coming 
ont after snnset. 
The Polar Pika {Lagomys hyperboreus) is the smallest known species; 
it is only five and one-fourth inches long, grayish-brown above, tinged with 
red on the head and sides ; it lives in northeast Siberia. 
The Common Squirrel (Sciurus vulgaris ), the only species of the genus 
sciurus to be found in Great Britain, is one of the most beautiful and lively of the 
