Books about white-tailed deer and deer behavior are seemingly endless. Authors want to tell us about making the best food plots, scouting, shed hunting, controlling human scent, placing stands and more. If there’s a topic, there’s a book.

But what about our small game, the squirrels, rabbits and pheasant? There isn’t a rash of coffee table books about those species. Here’s a look at what you might not know:

1. Of those three species, which can see behind them?

Both the rabbit and the squirrel can see nearly 360 degrees, due to the positioning of their eyes. Ironically, the rabbit has a blind spot, which is directly in front of it. The squirrel is unique in that its ankles can turn 180 degrees, which gives it the ability to run up and down trees. Squirrels have 4 toes on their front legs, and 5 toes on their back legs, all tipped with very sharp nails.

2. Which is the smallest at birth?

Take a look at your thumbnail – that’s about the size of a baby squirrel, which is one inch long. The female squirrel will have a litter of from 2 to 4 young, while rabbits typically have 4 to 12. In the wild, pheasants will typically lay 12 to 20 eggs although there is a very low survival rate. One third of pheasants that hatch in the wild won’t reach the age of 6 weeks.

3. Which is the youngest when it can be bred?

Well, everybody probably got this one, based on reputation. Yes, it’s the rabbit. The females can be bred beginning at three months old, in fact, ovulation is only triggered by intercourse. Rabbits have a short gestation period, 30 days, and can breed 8 months out of a year. A pheasant egg must be nested on or incubated for 23 days before it hatches. The squirrels have one litter a year, after 44 days gestation.

Both baby rabbits and baby squirrels are called kits, sometimes kittens. A young pheasant is called a chick. Adult rabbits are a buck and doe; pheasants are cock birds and hens; and squirrels are boars and sows.

4. What is the favorite food of rabbits?

It’s not a carrot, as Bugs Bunny would have you believe. In fact, in the wild, rabbits don’t eat root vegetables, preferring to much on greens.

5. Which one is not native to Pennsylvania?

We may hear hunters talk about the good old days, when they could grab a shotgun after school and get their limit on pheasant. They talk about old farms loaded with plenty of pheasants. But the fact is, pheasants were never native to the United States; they are from Asia. The strain raised by game bird breeders in Pennsylvania is from Mongolia.

6. Which one is the fastest runner?

The rabbit is the fastest runner, able to reach speeds of 25 miles per hour, followed closely by the squirrel at 20 miles per hour. Pheasants can run about 10 miles an hour – and as someone who has chased pheasants a long way trying to get them to fly, I can tell you that they seem much faster than that! Surprisingly, when pushed to escape danger, a pheasant would much rather run than fly. In flight, a pheasant can reach speeds of from 35 to 45 miles per hour, with a cruising speed of 37 miles per hour. Pheasants startled into a flush have been recorded at an incredible 56 miles per hour.

Well, now you may know more about the small game we pursue. It’s time to grab a shotgun and get out there for some fun, fast-paced action.