Eastern Cottontail Rabbit (Sylvilagus floridanus)

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Eastern Cottontail Rabbit (Leporidae: Sylvilagus floridanus)

The Eastern Cottontail Rabbit occurs throughout the eastern half of the United States, down into Mexico, and westward into the southwest. Its distribution barely reaches into southeast Canada. This rabbit is abundant everywhere in its range. We commonly see them in our backyard.

Identifying Features: The Eastern Cottontail is only one or a number of rabbit species occurring in the Eastern Deciduous Forest region. The Eastern Cottontail has a cottony, white tail like a powder puff, and a rusty patch of fur on the back behind the ears. The ears are relatively short.

Similar Species: The European hare (Lepus europaeus) has longer ears and the ears are tipped with black. The New England Cottontail (Sylvilagus transitionalis) lives primarily in the mountains from the Appalachians north to New England. It has a distinct reddish color. The rusty patch behind the ears of the Eastern Cottontail is pale in the New England Cottontail. The Marsh Rabbit (Sylvilagus palustris) has rusty-red feet, but those of the Eastern Cottontail are white or gray-white. The Marsh Rabbit is restricted to wetlands habitats in the southeastern coastal plain and Florida. Finally the Swamp Rabbit (Sylvilagus aquaticus) lives in the southern United States, but away from the southeastern Coastal Plain. The feet are rusty-brown (not white) and the rusty-brown patch behind the ears of the Eastern Cottontail is absent in the Swamp Rabbit. The Swamp Rabbit lives in wetland areas.

Habitat: The Eastern Cottontail is not a species of deep forest, but is more commonly found in open fields near woods or suburban areas with some patches of woods nearby. Powerline right-of-ways are also a good place to find them. They common live near swamps and ponds as well.

Food: Eastern Cottontails feed on a wide variety of green plants, often including those in your garden. The tender part of tree and shrub bark makes up most of its diet in the winter.

Behavior: The Eastern Cottontail is primarily nocturnal, but they are are not particularly strict about it, coming out from early dusk, through the night, and well into the morning. They spend the day concealed in piles of brush or in shallow burrows. The abundance of cottontails can vary considerably from year to year.

Reproduction: Eastern Cottontail Rabbits have 3 to 4 litters of young per year with each litter consisting of 3 to 7 young.