Eastern cottontail

Scientific name: Sylvilagus floridanus

How weight is recorded: Whole weight

Field notes

Appearance

Reddish-brown to gray fur with a distinctive white fluffy tail and white spot on the forehead; ears are relatively long and furred. Males are slightly smaller and lighter than females, though sexual dimorphism is subtle.

Size and weight

Adult weight 1.0–1.8 kg (typically 1.2–1.5 kg); body length 35–42 cm; females average 5–10% heavier than males.

Habitat

Eastern cottontails occupy brushy fields, woodland edges, thickets, and regenerating clearings from sea level to moderate elevation. They prefer mixed open and shrubby cover that provides both feeding areas and quick escape routes.

Distribution

Found throughout the eastern and central United States from the Atlantic coast westward; common in agricultural lands, suburbs, and disturbed habitats; absent from deep forest interior.

Diet

Herbivorous, eating clover, grass, and legumes in spring/summer; shifts to woody browse, bark, and dried vegetation in fall/winter.

Behaviour

Primarily crepuscular and nocturnal, most active at dawn and dusk; solitary or loosely grouped; use a network of runways and forms (shallow depressions) within their home range and rely on sprinting to escape predators.

Hunting tips

Look for tracks (hind prints ~4 cm, front prints ~2 cm) and round dark droppings along runways near brush and bramble. Approach from downwind using quiet footfalls through edge habitat during early morning or late afternoon. Still-hunt slowly through thickets, pausing frequently to listen and watch for movement, or flush rabbits from cover toward open ground where they are most visible.

Whole weight

This species is logged by whole weight — the animal weighed entire, as taken.

Where it is hunted

Listed as huntable in 5 countries in Huntify.

Names in other languages

These field notes are general species knowledge, not legal advice. Always check the current seasons, quotas and firearm rules where you hunt.