Another specimen in my possession, procured by Dr Townsend on the plains of Snake River, has the upper parts brown, streaked and spotted with reddish-white; the upper tail-coverts white, barred with dusky, the lower parts as above described. The colours however vary, and in some the upper parts are deep brown, the lower reddish or brownish white, barred with reddish-brown.
When compared with European specimens, mine have the bill somewhat stronger; but in all other respects, including the scutella and scales of the feet and toes, and the structure of the wings and tail, the parts are similar.
Marsh Hare.
Lepus palustris, Bachman.
The Hare figured in the plate is thus described by my learned friend Dr Bachman, in his excellent observations on the different species of the genus Lepus inhabiting the United States and Canada, inserted in the seventh volume of the Journal of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia:—
“Smaller than the American Hare. Ears much shorter than the head; eyes rather small; tail very short; feet small, thinly clothed with hair. Upper surface yellowish-brown; beneath, grey.
| Incisors | 4 | Canines | 0—0 | Molars | 6—6 | = 28 |
| 2, | 0—0, | 5—5, |
“The upper incisors are longer and broader than those of the American Hare, marked, like all the rest of the species, with a deep longitudinal furrow. The small accessory incisors are smaller and less flattened than those of the last mentioned species, and the molars are narrower and a little shorter. The transverse diameter of the cranium is much smaller, the vertical diameter about equal. Orbits of the eyes one-third smaller. This is a striking peculiarity, giving it a smaller and less prominent eye than that of any other American species. The pterygoid processes of the temporal bone project downwards nearly in a vertical line, whilst those of the American Hare are almost horizontal.
“Head and ears shorter than those of the Lepus Americanus; legs short, and rather small; body short and thick; feet small, thinly clothed with hair beneath, so as not to cover the nails, which are larger than those of the American Hare. Tail shorter than that of any other species of true hare inhabiting the United States, except the Lepus Nuttalli. Hair on the back long and somewhat rough. From the short legs and ears of this species, and its general clumsy habit, it has the appearance when running through the marshes, splashing through mud and mire, and plunging into creeks and ponds of water, of some large Norway Rat, hastening to escape from its pursuers.