Vo 1. 9, No. 10 
Page 6 
vegetation. Three density classes were recognized: none; sparse to medium (crowns 
not touching); and dense (crowns mostly touching, and including grape arbors). 
The limits of the study area were defined by a line drawn between the outermost 
radio-locations for all observed animals, and the amount of each habitat type 
within this area was determined (Tabie 6). 
Habitat-use by the rabbits was evaluated by plotting radio-indicated locations 
on a cover map. It was assumed that errors inherent in locating radio-tagged 
rabbits by triangulation were random and would not cause a biased picture of 
habitat-use. 
Use of woody cover by the radio-tagged cottontails is presented in Table 6. 
On nights with little or no snow on the ground the rabbits spent most of their 
time in areas with either no woody overstory or a sparse to medium woody overstory. 
Since these are the most prevalent habitat types on the study area, it is suggested 
that the animals either (l) preferred areas with little or no woody vegetation, or 
(2) they were not responding to woody cover as they moved about on these nights. 
In any case, when there was no snow on the ground these rabbits showed no strong 
preference for areas of dense woody cover. 
However, on February 1, with 4 inches of snow on the ground, the rabbits were 
less active (see earlier report) and remained in areas with dense woody cover 
(Table 6). 
Table 6. Nighttime use of woody cover (more than 2 feet tall) by radio-tagged 
cottontail rabbits during winter periods with and without snow on the ground, 
University of Illinois Farms, 1 966 . 
Amount of Woody 
Percent 
of Total Observations 
Amount of 
Habitat Type 
in Study Area 
(percent) 
Cover (Trees and 
Shrubs) Present 
No Snow on Trace of Snow 
Ground* on Ground* 
Four Inches of 
Snow on Ground* 
None 
37 
29 
0 
50 
Sparse to Medium: 
Crowns Not Touching 
39 
39 
0 
33 
Dense: Crowns ^ 
Mostly Touching 
20 
30 
100 
14 
Unclassified 
3 
2 
0 
3 
Total Observations 
284 
466 
46 
* Three nights of tracking involving 7 rabbits; 12 rabbit-nights in all. 
t Four nights of tracking involving 5 rabbits; 17 rabbit-nights in all. 
* One night of tracking involving two rabbits, 
tt Includes grape arbors. 
