Page:Ornithological biography, or an account of the habits of the birds of the United States of America, vol 2.djvu/505

Rh secondaries long, broad, and rounded. Tail rather long, ample, rounded, of twelve broad, rounded, and acuminate feathers.

Bill light bluish-grey at the base, black at the tip; cere and basal margins yellow. Eyebrows and margins of the eyelids light blue ; iris chestnut. Toes rich yellow ; claws bluish-black. Fore part of the head, cheeks, throat, and under parts, deep brown. Hind head, and posterior and lateral parts of the neck, hght brownish-yellow, the shafts and con- cealed parts of the feathers deep brown. The back is deep brown, glossy, with purplish reflections ; the wing-coverts lighter. The primary quills brownish-black, the secondaries with their coverts brown, and those next the body more or less mottled vnth brownish-white, excepting at the ends ; the edge of the wing at the flexure pale yellowish-brown. Tail dark brown, lighter towards the base, and with a few irregular whitish mark- ings, like fragments of transverse bands ; its coverts pale brown, mottled with white at the base, and paler at the ends. The short feathers of the legs and tarsi are light yellowish-brown, each with a dark shaft ; the outer elongated feathers dark brown ; the lower tail-coverts light yellowish- brown. The base of the feathers on the upper parts of the body is white, on the lower pale dusky grey.

Length 3 feet 2 inches, extent of wings 7 feet ; bill along the back S^, edge of lower mandible 2i ; tarsus 4^, middle toe and claw A'l, hind claw 2|. The extremities of the wings are i inch short of that of the tail

The species of Hare here represented, is found in the more northern parts of the State of New York, and from thence to the extremities of Nova Scotia. During the summer months it is of a deep greyish-brown colour above, darker on the shoulders and rump, and dull white beneath. About the beginning of October, the tips of the hairs become whitish, not unfrequently in spots, and at length the fur acquires a snowy hue all over, although its under parts remain greyish at all seasons. Its flesh resembles that of the European Hare in taste, but is much lighter in colour. The markets of Boston and our eastern cities are generally well supplied with them during winter, when they are brought from the mountainous