It has big eyes, puffy, round tails and long, wide ears with little fur in them. Desert Cottontail Facts: Animals of North America. - NatureWorks Eastern cottontail rabbits are one of the most common species of rabbit in North America. The eastern cottontail has speckled brown-gray fur above, reddish-brown fur around its neck and shoulders and lighter fur around its nose and on its undersides. European rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus) live on … Intrinsic Vulnerability. Today the New England Cottontail is restricted to less than a fifth of its… Trace amounts of eastern cottontail remains have been detected in black bear (Ursus americanus) scat. Despite this, human activity threatens some local populations of this species, but the population as a whole is increasing in number. There are two species of cottontails in the Northeast – the New England Cottontail and the Eastern Cottontail. In southwestern North Dakota, cottontails (both eastern and desert cottontail Sylvilagus auduboni) were major prey items in the diets of bobcats. The New England Cottontail was the only rabbit east of the Hudson River until the Eastern Cottontail was introduced in the late 1800s. A familiar rabbit species across much of eastern North America, the eastern cottontail (Sylvilagus floridanus) has the long ears, large hind legs and feet, and short, fluffy tail which are characteristic of all rabbits and hares.The eastern cottontail’s front legs are shorter than its hind legs, and the soles of its feet are covered in fur. - NatureWorks Despite their name, desert cottontail rabbits do not just live in desert habitats, but are also found in grasslands and woodlands. Desert Cottontail. It has big eyes and a tail that is puffy white on the underside. There are several species of cottontail rabbit, but the eastern cottontail is the most common. Snowshoe hares and the various species of cottontail rabbits look similar from a distance, especially during the summer when the hares don’t have their distinctive white coats. Cottontail is a see also of rabbit. The desert cottontail is distinguished from the brush rabbit, with which it overlaps in the south of its range, by its larger size and ears and by its grayish coat. Juvenile eastern cottontails are rare in the diet of short-eared owls (Asio flammeus). The female desert cottontail is usually a little larger than the male. The fur pattern and color of the Desert Cottontail blends in quite nicely with the terrain of their native habitats. The desert cottontail has brown-gray fur above and lighter fur on its undersides. It is abundant in Midwest North America, and has been found in New Mexico and Arizona. You can see cottontails from central to southern Canada, all of eastern United States to the Great Plains and parts of northwestern South America. Its range expanded north as forests were cleared by settlers. Also known as Audubon's cottontail, the desert cottontail (Sylvilagus audubonii) is a New World cottontail rabbit that can be found throughout the western United States from eastern Montana to western Texas, and in northern and central Mexico. The desert cottontail looks very similar to the eastern cottontail but is smaller and paler. A familiar rabbit species across much of eastern North America, the eastern cottontail (Sylvilagus floridanus) has the long ears, large hind legs and feet, and short, fluffy tail which are characteristic of all rabbits and hares.The eastern cottontail’s front legs are shorter than its hind legs, and the soles of its feet are covered in fur. In the winter its fur may be more gray than brown. In Texas, they inhabit all but the western arm of the state, which has its own distinct species of cottontail: the desert cottontail. As nouns the difference between cottontail and rabbit is that cottontail is a rabbit of any of various species in genus (taxlink) while rabbit is a mammal of the family leporidae , with long ears, long hind legs and a short, fluffy tail.