Remarks.—Nuttall cottontails are small, grayish-brown rabbits with relatively short, rounded ears and short legs. Their small size and small ears, which lack black tips, distinguish them from jack rabbits where the two occur together.
Fig. 129. Distribution of the Nuttall cottontail. Sylvilagus nuttallii nuttallii, in Washington.
The genus Sylvilagus is found in both North and South America. The species nuttallii, with three subspecies, is restricted to the western part of the United States. It ranges from southern Canada south to central New Mexico and from western South Dakota west to the Cascades. A single race occurs in Washington. Nuttall cottontails depend on cover for concealment from enemies. They frequent thick stands of tall sagebrush, riparian thickets, or rocky coulees. Seldom are they encountered in the open. In the sand-dune areas near Moses Lake cottontails were abundant in the dense, thorny thickets about potholes and in areas of tall sagebrush. They are especially common near the talus at the bases of the walls of Grand Coulee, and Moses Coulee where they do not hesitate to enter crevices in rock slides for protection. Indeed, cottontails are abundant everywhere within their range in the state of Washington, where suitable cover and food are present. They seem to be confined to the Upper Sonoran Life-zone.
Cottontails are most active at night, as is attested by the number killed then by automobiles on highways. The greatest number are seen by observers in the morning and evening but it is not unusual to see an animal feeding at midday. When startled they dash for the nearest thicket or pile of rocks with their tiny white tails erect. They travel in relatively straight lines and do not dash from side to side in flight as do jack rabbits. They sometimes seek concealment by "freezing" motionlessly in plain sight. When feeding undisturbed they travel by slow hops.
The trails of cottontails are characteristic of thickets in sagebrush country. The trails are narrow, less than four inches wide, and often enter thickets of strong, thorny growths which can scarcely be penetrated by man. Near Okanogan Lake the trails of cottontails were found among greasewood bushes on hard-packed gravel. Trails are usually most abundant in thickets near water. Permanent trails are not made through low sagebrush or over sandy areas where the animals prefer to pick their way when traveling from one clump of cover to another.
Nuttall cottontails probably eat many desert grasses, annuals, and shrubs; observation indicates that sagebrush (Artemisiae tridentata) and rabbit brush (Chrysothamnus nauseosus) are particularly important as food.
The young of cottontails in Washington seem to vary from one to four per litter and are born between April and June.