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Most rabbits are cottontails, most of which have tails that are brown above and white below, resembling a cotton ball. Native to North and South America, cottontails frequent a wide variety of habitats, but all species need cover usually low vegetation. Only the pygmy is definitely known to construct its own burrow. Rabbits may sit almost perfectly still and quiet for extremely long periods of time, even when closely approached.
The eastern cottontail has by far the greatest range. The smallest cottontail is the pygmy rabbit (Brachylagus idahoensis), the largest the swamp rabbit (Sylvilagus aquaticus). Swamp rabbit females are about the same size as males.
• eastern cottontail (Sylvilagus floridanus) This species is ranges from southern Manitoba & Quebec through eastern United States into northern South America (Venezuela) and has been widely introduced, including the Pacific Northwest. The eastern cottontail inhabits a tremendous variety of habitats, including tropical, temperate hardwood, and boreal (northern) forests, grasslands, swamps, deserts, fields, and farms.
Western Cottontails |
More Eastern Cottontails |
• pygmy rabbit (Brachylagus idahoensis) This species occurs in the Columbia Plateau
& Great Basin regions of the western U.S. , where it is closely associated with sagebrush.
• (Sylvilagus nuttallii) This species frequents dry bushy or rocky areas from southwestern Canada south through the western U.S.
• brush rabbit (Sylvilagus bachmani) As its name implies, it inhabits areas with dense brush from western Oregon to southern Baja California .
• desert cottontail (Sylvilagus audubonii) This cottontail is found in deserts from western North Dakota to southern Baja California & central Mexico . |
• New England cottontail (Sylvilagus transitionalis) This species is found mainly in dense forests from the northeastern U.S. south through the Appalachians to northern Alabama .
• Marsh rabbit (Sylvilagus palustris) This species frequents marshes from southeastern Virginia to southern Alabama & Florida . It usually walks instead of hopping and swims extensively. A Florida subspecies known as the Lower Keys rabbit bears the scientific name Sylvilagus palustris hefneri, in honor of the man who made the Playboy bunny famous!
• swamp rabbit (Sylvilagus aquaticus) The swamp rabbit occupies swamps and lowlands near water in the south-central United States . |
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Southern Cottontails
• forest rabbit (Sylvilagus cunicularius) central & southwestern Mexico
• (Sylvilagus graysoni) Tres Marias Islands off west coast of Mexico
• (Sylvilagus insonus) southern Mexico
• (Sylvilagus mansuetus) San Jose Island off southeastern Baja California
• (Sylvilagus brasiliensis) eastern Mexico to Argentina
• (Sylvilagus dicei) mountains of central costa Rica & western Panama
Cottontail Rabbit Facts:
Scientific name: |
Sylvilagus floridanus |
Habitat: |
Open lands bordered by thickets and brushy areas with ground burrows and holes. |
Adult weight: |
2 - 4 lbs. |
Adult body length: |
14 1/4 - 16 3/8 inches |
Breeding period: |
February - September; peak May - June. |
Litters per year: |
2- 5, average 3 |
Litter size: |
2 - 10; average 5 |
Life expectancy: |
average less than 1 year |
Typical foods : |
Herbivore - Wide variety of plants such as clover, dandelion, plantain, and ragweed. Winter foods include ear corn, dry hay, and bark of tree saplings, raspberry, and multiflora rose. |
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