Hares
European hare (Lepus europaeus)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Lagomorpha
Family:	Leporidae
Genus:	Lepus Linnaeus, 1758
Type species
Lepus timidus Linnaeus, 1758
Species
See text

Hares and jackrabbits are leporids belonging to the genus Lepus. A hare less than one year old is called a leveret. Four species commonly known as types of hare are classified outside of Lepus: the hispid hare (Caprolagus hispidus), and three species known as red rock hares (Pronolagus spp.).

Hares are very fast-moving. The European brown hare (Lepus europaeus) can run at speeds of up to 72 km/h (45 mph). They live solitarily or in pairs, while a "drove" is the collective noun for a group of hares.

A common type of hare in Arctic North America is the snowshoe hare, replaced farther south by the black-tailed jackrabbit, white-tailed jackrabbit, and other species.

Normally a shy animal, the European brown hare changes its behavior in spring, when hares can be seen in broad daylight chasing one another around meadows; this appears to be competition between males to attain dominance (and hence more access to breeding females). During this spring frenzy, hares can be seen "boxing"; one hare striking another with its paws (probably the origin of the term "mad as a March hare"). For a long time it had been thought that this was inter-male competition, but closer observation has revealed that it is usually a female hitting a male to prevent copulation.^[1]

Differences from rabbits[link]

Hares do not bear their young below ground in a burrow as do other leporids, but rather in a shallow depression or flattened nest of grass called a form. Hares are adapted to the lack of physical protection, relative to that afforded by a burrow, by being born fully furred and with eyes open. They are hence able to fend for themselves soon after birth; they are precocial. By contrast, the related rabbits and cottontail rabbits are altricial, having young that are born blind and hairless.

All rabbits (except the cottontail rabbits) live underground in burrows or warrens, while hares (and cottontail rabbits) live in simple nests above the ground, and usually do not live in groups. Hares are generally larger than rabbits, with longer ears, and have black markings on their fur. Hares have not been domesticated, while rabbits are kept as house pets. There is a domestic pet known as the "Belgian Hare", but this is a rabbit that has been selectively bred to resemble a hare.

The hare's diet is similar to the rabbit's. They are both in the order Lagomorpha.

Hares have jointed, or kinetic, skulls, unique among mammals.

They have 48 chromosomes (44 for the rabbit).

Classification[link]

There are 32 species listed:

Cape hare Lepus capensis

• Genus Lepus^[2]
  • Subgenus Macrotolagus
    • Antelope jackrabbit, Lepus alleni
  • Subgenus Poecilolagus
    • Snowshoe hare, Lepus americanus
  • Subgenus Lepus
    • Arctic hare, Lepus arcticus
    • Alaskan hare, Lepus othus
    • Mountain hare, Lepus timidus
  • Subgenus Proeulagus
    • Black-tailed jackrabbit, Lepus californicus
    • White-sided jackrabbit, Lepus callotis
    • Cape hare, Lepus capensis
    • Tehuantepec jackrabbit, Lepus flavigularis
    • Black jackrabbit, Lepus insularis
    • Scrub hare, Lepus saxatilis
    • Desert hare, Lepus tibetanus
    • Tolai hare, Lepus tolai
  • Subgenus Eulagos
    • Broom hare, Lepus castroviejoi
    • Yunnan hare, Lepus comus
    • Korean hare, Lepus coreanus
    • Corsican hare, Lepus corsicanus
    • European hare, Lepus europaeus
    • Granada hare, Lepus granatensis
    • Manchurian hare, Lepus mandschuricus
    • Woolly hare, Lepus oiostolus
    • Ethiopian highland hare, Lepus starcki
    • White-tailed jackrabbit, Lepus townsendii
  • Subgenus Sabanalagus
    • Ethiopian hare, Lepus fagani
    • African savanna hare, Lepus microtis
  • Subgenus Indolagus
    • Hainan hare, Lepus hainanus
    • Indian hare, Lepus nigricollis
    • Burmese hare, Lepus peguensis
  • Subgenus Sinolagus
    • Chinese hare, Lepus sinensis
  • Subgenus Tarimolagus
    • Yarkand hare, Lepus yarkandensis
  • Subgenus incertae sedis
    • Japanese hare, Lepus brachyurus
    • Abyssinian hare, Lepus habessinicus

As food[link]

Hares and rabbits are plentiful in many areas, adapt to a wide variety of conditions, and reproduce quickly, so hunting is often less regulated than for other varieties of game. In rural areas of North America and particularly in pioneer times,^[3] they were a common source of meat. However, because of their extremely low fat content, they are a poor choice as a survival food.^[4]

Hares can be prepared in the same manner as rabbits—commonly roasted or taken apart for breading and frying.

Young Hare, a watercolour, 1502, by Albrecht Dürer

Hasenpfeffer (also spelled Hasenfeffer) is a traditional German stew made from marinated rabbit or hare. Pfeffer is not only the name of a spice, but also of a dish where the animal's blood is used as a gelling agent for the sauce. Wine or vinegar is also a prominent ingredient, to lend a sourness to the recipe.

Jugged hare (known as civet de lièvre in France), is a whole hare, cut into pieces, marinated, and cooked with red wine and juniper berries in a tall jug that stands in a pan of water. It traditionally is served with the hare's blood (or the blood is added right at the very end of the cooking process) and port wine.^[5][6][7][8]

Jugged hare is described in the influential 18th century cookbook, The Art of Cookery by Hannah Glasse, with a recipe titled, "A Jugged Hare," that begins, "Cut it into little pieces, lard them here and there...." The recipe goes on to describe cooking the pieces of hare in water in a jug that it set within a bath of boiling water to cook for three hours.^[9] Beginning in the nineteenth century, Glasse has been widely credited with having started the recipe with the words "First, catch your hare," as in this citation.^[6] This attribution is apocryphal.

However, having a freshly caught, or shot, hare enables one to obtain its blood. A freshly killed hare is prepared for jugging by removing its entrails and then hanging it in a larder by its hind legs, which causes the blood to accumulate in the chest cavity. One method of preserving the blood after draining it from the hare (since the hare itself is usually hung for a week or more) is to mix it with red wine vinegar to prevent it coagulating, and then to store it in a freezer.^[10][11]

Many other British cookbooks from before the middle of the 20th century have recipes for jugged hare. Merle and Reitch^[12] have this to say about jugged hare, for example:

The best part of the hare, when roasted, is the loin and the thick part of the hind leg; the other parts are only fit for stewing, hashing, or jugging. It is usual to roast a hare first, and to stew or jug the portion which is not eaten the first day. [...]

To Jug A Hare. This mode of cooking a hare is very desirable when there is any doubt as to its age, as an old hare, which would be otherwise uneatable, may be made into an agreeable dish. [...]

In 2006, a survey of 2021 people for the television channel UKTV Food found that only 1.6% of the people under 25 recognized jugged hare by name. 7 of 10 stated they would refuse to eat jugged hare if it were served at the house of a friend or a relative.^[13][14]

The hare (and in recent times, the rabbit) is a staple of Maltese cuisine. The dish was presented to the island's Grandmasters of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta as well as Renaissance Inquisitors resident on the island, several of whom went on to become pope.

According to Jewish tradition, the hare is among mammals deemed not kosher, and therefore not eaten by observant Jews. However according to Islamic dietary laws Muslims deems coney meat halal. The Shia however have difference in opinion.

In England, a now rarely-served dish is potted hare. The hare meat is cooked, then covered in at least one inch (preferably more) of butter. The butter is a preservative; the dish can be stored for up to several months. It is served cold, often on bread or as an appetizer.

Folklore and mythology[link]

"How to allure the Hare". Facsimile of a Miniature in the Manuscript of Phoebus (Fifteenth Century).

The hare in African folk tales is a trickster; some of the stories about the hare were retold among African slaves in America, and are the basis of the Brer Rabbit stories. The hare appears in English folklore in the saying "as mad as a March hare" and in the legend of the White Hare that alternatively tells of a witch who takes the form of a white hare and goes out looking for prey at night or of the spirit of a broken-hearted maiden who cannot rest and who haunts her unfaithful lover.^[15][16] In Irish folklore, the hare is often associated with Sidh (Fairy) or other pagan elements. In these stories characters who harm hares often suffer dreadful consequences.

Many cultures, including the Chinese, Japanese, and Mexican, see a hare in the pattern of dark patches in the moon (see Moon rabbit); this tradition forms the basis of the Angelo Branduardi song "The Hare in the Moon"^[17] The constellation Lepus represents a hare.

One of Aesop's fables tells the story of The Tortoise and the Hare.

Famous hares in fiction[link]

Rabbits in culture and literature

Famous hares in art[link]

Three hares[link]

Dreihasenfenster (Window of Three Hares) in Paderborn Cathedral

A study in 2004 followed the history and migration of a symbolic image of three hares with conjoined ears. In this image, three hares are seen chasing each other in a circle with their heads near its centre. While each of the animals appears to have two ears, only three ears are depicted. The ears form a triangle at the centre of the circle and each is shared by two of the hares. The image has been traced from Christian churches in the English county of Devon right back along the Silk Road to China, via western and eastern Europe and the Middle East. It is possible that before its appearance in China, it was first depicted in the Middle East before being reimported centuries later. Its use is associated with Christian, Jewish, Islamic and Buddhist sites stretching back to about AD 600.^[18]

Place names[link]

The hare has given rise to local place names, as they can often be observed in favoured localities. An example in Scotland is 'Murchland', the Scots word for a hare being 'murchen'.^[19]

See also[link]

Rabbits and hares portal

• Lagomorpha
• Moon gazing hare
• Rabbits in the arts
• Three hares

References[link]

Further reading[link]

• Windling, Terri. The Symbolism of Rabbits and Hares.
• William George Black, F.S.A.Scot. "The Hare in Folk-lore" The Folk-Lore Journal. Volume 1, 1883.

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Lepus

• BBC Living World section about hares
• Picture series of an aged hare whose fur has turned gray

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[1]
Pitchfork Media	(7.5/10)[2]
Tiny Mix Tapes	[3]

We Have the Facts and We're Voting Yes is the second studio album by indie rock band Death Cab for Cutie, released March 21, 2000, on Barsuk Records. It is a concept album about a ruined relationship. It was ranked the 14th Greatest Indie Rock album of all time by Amazon.com.^[4]

In 2011, Walla reflected upon the album stating: "That second record, especially, for years and years has been my favorite. I think that Codes and Keys might actually take its place. I haven’t said that as every record has come out, certainly. As I try to figure out what it is about that record that I react to so strongly – we started recording it like twelve years ago – dissecting all those elements and trying to reverse-engineer what happened, I’ve learned so much about what I value about songwriting and about performances."^[5]

Cut songs[link]

The Forbidden Love E.P. contains an acoustic version of "405" and an alternate version of "Company Calls Epilogue".

You Can Play These Songs with Chords + 10 contains a version of "Song for Kelly Huckaby" that Christopher Walla notes was for Facts. Another version of "Song for Kelly Huckaby" appears on The Forbidden Love E.P.

Track listing[link]

The song "405" is often incorrectly associated with California's I-405, but is referring to I-405 in Seattle, Washington. The band is from Bellingham and the lyrics describing the songwriter's drive south to Seattle to visit a girlfriend.^[6]

Personnel[link]

Death Cab for Cutie

• Ben Gibbard – vocals, electric and acoustic guitars, drums, percussion, Casiotone, organ
• Nathan Good – drums on "The Employment Pages" and "Company Calls Epilogue"
• Nick Harmer – bass guitar
• Chris Walla – guitar, electric piano, backing vocals, percussion, glockenspiel, samples, production, mixing

Additional personnel

• Tony Lash – mastering

References[link]

Maddy Prior
Prior in 2008
Background information
Born	(1947-08-14) 14 August 1947 (age 64)
Origin	Blackpool, Lancashire, England
Genres	Folk rock, Electric folk, Folk
Occupations	Singer, Dancer
Instruments	Vocals
Years active	1967–present
Labels	Park
Associated acts	Steeleye Span Maddy Prior and Tim Hart Brass Monkey Silly Sisters The Carnival Band
Website	www.maddyprior.co.uk

Madeleine E. "Maddy" Prior (born 14 August 1947) is an English folk singer, best known as the lead vocalist of Steeleye Span.^[1]

Early life[link]

Born in Blackpool, Prior moved in her teens to St Albans, where she befriended the young Donovan Leitch and Mac MacLeod in The Cock pub . She later formed a duo with MacLeod called 'Mac & Maddy'. She became a roadie for visiting American musicians, including Reverend Gary Davis. They gave her useful advice about singing British folk songs instead of American songs.

Maddy's father[link]

Maddy's father, Allan Prior, was co-creator of the police drama Z-Cars, and wrote Stookie, a 6-part series for television, about a boy with his arm in a sling. Maddy sang the title song, which was released as a single in 1985. It reappeared on the Steeleye Span album A Rare Collection 1972 – 1996.

Singing career[link]

After a brief stint with Mac MacLeod in 'Mac & Maddy' (another act formed at The Cock Pub), by 1966 she began performing with Tim Hart, another St Albans resident, and together they recorded two albums before becoming founding members of Steeleye Span in 1969.^[2] They were the backbone of the group until the early 1980s when ill-health forced Hart into semi-retirement. Apart from the tambourine and spoons, Prior doesn't play an instrument, but she always gives a sprightly performance of her individual dances. In 1974 Ralph McTell wrote "Maddy Dances" in her honour, included on his album "Easy".

Prior married bassist Rick Kemp, though they have since divorced. The singer Rose Kemp is their daughter.

Prior has recorded session work, albums of her own songs and eclectic styles from medieval, through electric folk — Steeleye Span and Maddie Prior appeared on television with a regular programme Electric Folk^{[citation needed]} — prog-rock and traditional songs, including session work on Mike Oldfield's Incantations. She left Steeleye Span in 1997 but returned in 2002. The 1999 album The Journey was recorded in 1995, when Maddy was still in the band but not released until four years later. She was also one half of the duo Silly Sisters, which helped to boost June Tabor's career.

Since 2003, Prior has run and hosted an Arts Centre called Stones Barn in Cumbria. Working with fellow singers and performers like Abbie Lathe and daughter Rose Kemp, Maddy has offered residential courses focusing on singing, meditation, cookery and performance. Other events, hosted by other teachers, include classical Indian dances, painting and drumming. Maddy campaigns on behalf of the charity Cancer Research UK.

Recent tours and albums[link]

Prior took to the road with The Carnival Band in May 2007 for their "Music for Tavern and Chapel" tour. They celebrated the 300th anniversary of one of the key influences on their work, Charles Wesley. She made a guest appearance with The Levellers at the Solfest Festival in Cumbria in August 2007. On recent albums Troy Donockley has been a co-producer.

In December 2007 the album Ringing The Changes was issued. It is a collection of songs written by the band. In 2008 Prior appeared at the BBC's "Electric Proms".^[3] Steeleye Span toured the Eastern US, Australia and the UK beginning in 2009.

A short tour with The Carnival Band in November and December, featuring carols and seasonal music, has become a regular fixture for Prior in recent years.

Awards[link]

In 2001 Prior was awarded the MBE for services to folk music.^[4]

Discography[link]

With Steeleye Span[link]

Prior was on all the Steeleye Span albums from Hark! The Village Wait (1970) to Time (1996). She then returned for Present – The Very Best of Steeleye Span (2002) and subsequent albums.

Solo albums[link]

• Woman in the Wings (1978) — with Jethro Tull
• Changing Winds (1978)
• Hooked on Winning (1982)
• Going for Glory (1983)
• Happy Families (as 'Maddy Prior and Rick Kemp') (1990)
• Year (1993)
• Memento (best of) (1995)
• Flesh and Blood (1997)
• Ravenchild (1999)
• Ballads and Candles (2000)
• Arthur the King (2001)
• Bib and Tuck (2002) — as 'Maddy Prior And The Girls' with Abbie Lathe and Rose Kemp
• Lionhearts (2003)
• Under the Covers (2005) — as 'Maddy + Girls' with Abbie Lathe and Claudia Gibson
• The Quest (2007) (CD + DVD)
• Seven for Old England (2008)

Compilation[link]

• Collections 1995 – 2005 (2005)

Tim Hart and Maddy Prior[link]

• Folk Songs of Olde England vol 1 (1968)
• Folk Songs of Olde England vol 2 (1968)
• Summer Solstice (1971)

Maddy Prior and June Tabor[link]

• Silly Sisters (1976)
• No More To The Dance (1988)

Maddy Prior, John Kirkpatrick and Sydney Carter[link]

• Lovely in the Dances (1981)

Maddy Prior and The Carnival Band[link]

• A Tapestry of Carols (1986)
• Sing Lustily And With Good Courage (1990)
• Carols and Capers (1991)
• Hang Up Sorrow and Care (1995)
• Carols at Christmas (1996)
• Gold Frankincense and Myrrh (2001)
• An Evening of Carols and Capers (2006)
• Paradise Found (2007)
• Ringing the Changes (2007)

Maddy Prior and Martin Carthy[link]

• Beat the Retreat (1994) Maddy Prior and Martin Carthy perform two songs, "Farewell, Farewell", and "The Great Valerio" on this Richard Thompson tribute album.

Maddy Prior singles[link]

• "Rollercoaster" / "I Told You So" (1978)
• "Baggy Pants" / "Woman in the Wings" (1978)
• "Just the Two of Us" / "Acappella Stella" (1979)
• "Wake up England" / "Paradise" (1980)
• "The King" / "Ringing Down the Years" (1980) (with Dave Cousins/Strawbs)
• "To Face" / "Half Listening" (1982)
• "Deep in the Darkest Night" / "Western Movies" (1983)
• "Stookie" / "Incidental Music From "Stookie"" (1985)
• "Happy Families" / "Who's Sorry Now?" (1990)
• "I Saw Three Ships" / "Quem Pastores" / "Monsieur Charpentier's Christmas Swing" (1991) (with the Carnival Band)
• "I Saw Three Ships (Dance Doctor's Christmas Re-Mix)" / "The Boar's Head" / "Poor Little Jesus" (1992)
• "All Around My Hat" (1996) (with Status Quo)
• "Forgiveness" (2000) (with Jennifer Cutting All-Stars)
• "Gaudete" / "Greenwood Side" / "Gaudete (extended mix)" (2001) (with Keltic Fusion; Maddy's voice is sampled)
• "Stuff" (2007) (with the Carnival Band and Terry Jones)

DVDs[link]

• Ballads and Candles (2004)
• An Evening of Carols and Capers (2005)
• Looking For a Grail Legend (2007) (documentary)

As a session or guest singer[link]

She appeared on these albums:

• Shirley Collins: No Roses (1971)
• Jack the Lad: It's Jack the Lad (1974)
• Ralph McTell: Streets... (1975)
• Jethro Tull: Too Old to Rock 'n' Roll: Too Young to Die! (1976)
• Wizz Jones: Magical Flight (1977)
• Mandalaband: The Eye of Wendor: Prophecies (1978) on the track Like the Wind
• Mike Oldfield: Incantations (1978)
• Mike Oldfield: Exposed (1979) live album, re-released in 2005 on DVD-Video
• Tim Hart and Friends: My Very Favourite Nursery Rhymes (1981)
• Tim Hart and Friends: The Drunken Sailor and other Kids Favourites (1983)
• Swan Arcade: Diving for Pearls (1986)
• Frankie Armstrong: Till The Grass O'Ergrew The Corn (1996)
• Rev Hammer's Freeborn John: The Story of John Lilburne-The Leader of the Levellers (1997)
• Ayuo: Nova Carmina (1986)(Maddy Prior sings two songs from the Carmina Burana)
• Jennifer Cutting: Ocean: Songs for the Night Sea Journey (2005)
• Rev Hammer — Freeborn John Live (2007)

Television[link]

• BBC Wildlife on One: Shadow of the Hare 12 April 1993

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official website
• Stones Barn
• Park Records, Prior's Record Label
• The Carnival Band