A widespread, medium-sized rabbit with rusty-brown fur mottled with black, and white fur on its belly and the underside of the tail. The Eastern Cottontail feeds at dawn and dusk on grasses, twigs, and bark and tends to run in a zigzag pattern when startled. They build nests underground where they shelter their furless, helpless babies.
Forest, Grassland
The eastern cottontail has the widest distribution of any Sylvilagus. It is found from southern Manitoba and Quebec to Central and northwestern South America. In the contiguous United States, the eastern cottontail ranges from the east to the Great Plains in the west.
Abundant
Crepuscular
Vegetation such as bark, twigs, leaves, fruit, buds, flowers, grass seeds, sedge fruits, and rush seeds.
Eastern cottontails are solitary animals, they tend to be intolerant of each other and are very territorial. Eastern cottontails are crepuscular to nocturnal feeders; although they usually spend most of the daylight hours resting in shallow depressions under vegetative cover or other shelter, they can be seen at any time of day. Eastern cottontails are most active when visibility is limited, such as rainy or foggy nights.
Least Concern
