Eastern Cottontail (Sylvilagus floridanus)

North Carolina Wildlife Profiles – Eastern Cottontail (N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission)
The eastern cottontail is the most well-known and most widely distributed rabbit in North Carolina.

Virginia Wildlife – Eastern Cottontail (Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries)
Cottontails have been referred to as the “protein pill” of the animal kingdom. They are perhaps the most heavily preyed upon game species in Virginia.

Working with Wildlife – Cottontail Rabbit (N.C. State University Cooperative Extension)
Cottontails live throughout the South from bottomlands and marshes to the highest mountain balds. They thrive in openings wherever shrubs, grasses and forbs dominate.

Field Guide – Eastern Cottontail (Chesapeake Bay Program)
The eastern cottontail feeds on many plants, including clover, sprouts, grasses, sedges, vines and shrubs. It gets its water from the plants it eats. It usually feeds just after dawn and sunset.

Eastern Cottontail (Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency)
Eastern Cottontails inhabit many areas such as farmlands, hedgerows, orchards and backyards, particularly where shrubby forest borders meet open areas.