Overview

The eastern cottontail is the most familiar rabbit across the eastern and central United States, turning lawns, field edges, and suburban gardens into its home range. Active mainly at dawn and dusk, it feeds on grasses, clover, and garden plants, leaving neat clipped stems where it has grazed.

When startled, a cottontail freezes briefly — its brown coat melting into leaf litter — then bolts in a zigzag sprint, flashing the bright white underside of its tail. That flash may confuse predators just long enough for the rabbit to reach cover.

Habitat

Cottontails thrive in patchy landscapes: mowed lawns beside brush piles, hedgerows, overgrown fields, and woodland edges. They need dense cover within a short dash of open feeding ground and often shelter in thickets or burrows abandoned by other animals.

Countries found

Eastern Cottontail in United States

Interesting facts

01
Cottontails freeze when scared — their brown coat blends into leaf litter.
02
They can produce several litters a year, with kits leaving the nest in about two weeks.
03
The white tail flash may signal danger to other rabbits nearby.

Conservation status

LC — Least Concern

Eastern cottontails are Least Concern and abundant across their range. They benefit from suburban edge habitat but face heavy predation from cats, dogs, foxes, and hawks.