COTTONTAIL BABBITS 227 



Sacramento Cottontail. Sylvilagus audubonii audubonii (Baird) 

 Washington Cottontail, Sylvilagus nuttallii nuttallii (Bachman)^^ 



Field characters. — Size smaller than in either common domestic rabbit or jack rabbit; 

 tail cottony white on whole under surface; ears moderate, about length of head (fig. 

 356). Head and body 12i^ to 13% inches (310-348 mm.), tail about 2 inches (40-55 

 mm.), hind foot 3^/4 to 3% inches (81-94 mm.), ear (from crown of head) 2% to 

 3% inches (68-90 mm.) ; weight about 2 pounds or slightly over (1 kilogram). [Meas- 

 urements from audubonii.'] Coloration above yellowish brown with moderate amount 

 of blackish overwash; whole under surface of body, tops of hind feet, and under side of 

 tail, pure white. Droppings: Flattened spheres about i/4 inch in diameter; scattered 

 on ground where the rabbits feed. 



Occurrence. — Common resident in Lower Sonoran and part of Upper Sonoran Zone 

 on west side of Yosemite region. Recorded at Snelling, Lagrange, and Pleasant Valley 

 {S. audubonii) ; also east of Sierra Nevada in neighborhood of Mono Lake {S. nuttallii). 

 See footnote for details. Inhabits brushy situations interspersed with clearings. Active 

 in morning and late afternoon. 



Cottontail rabbits are present along the western and eastern bases of 

 the Sierra Nevada, but they do not invade the adjacent hill country to any 

 extent. On the west slope, the range of the cottontail is nearly comple- 

 mentary to that of the brush rabbit, though the two are not necessarily 

 mutually exclusive. Cottontails are much different in their habits from 

 jack rabbits (which are hares, and not true rabbits), and so these two 

 types can and do occur in the same general localities without competing 

 seriously with one another. 



The cottontail is nearly twice the weight of a brush rabbit but only 

 about one-third that of a jack rabbit. In general, it resembles the former, 

 possessing rather short legs and feet, and ears of moderate length (fig. 35&). 

 The cottony white of the tail, which has given rise to the common name, 

 is much more conspicuous in this species than in the brush rabbit. The 

 cottontail is essentially an inhabitant of thickets, although it does not 

 require such dense cover as does the brush rabbit and it forages farther 

 out into the open than does that species. The growths which line the banks 

 of the Merced and Tuolumne rivers on their courses through the San 



17 Two distinct species of Cottontail Babbit are found at the opposite ends of the 

 Yosemite section. Their habits are not known to differ to any great extent save perhaps 

 in adaptation to the different types of country in which they live. Because of the lack 

 of knowledge as to many of the details of their life histories, they are here considered 

 together. 



Sacramento Cottontail, Sylvilagus audubonii audubonii (Baird) . The species which 

 inhabits north-central California, and reaches its southern limit in the vicinity of the 

 Yosemite section. It is common near Snelling and Lagrange, and a few were noted 

 in the hills near Pleasant Valley. 



Washington Cottontail, Sylvilagus nuttallii nuttallii (Bachman). A Great Basin 

 species. Occurs at localities on the east side of the Sierra Nevada in the neighborhood 

 of Mono Lake (noted by us on Rush Creek, on Williams Butte, and near Mono Lake 

 Post Office). It may be distinguished from the west-side species by grayer tone of 

 coloration, especially on sides of body, and greater amount of rufous on back. 



