Rabbit Species & Ecology
Learn about the ecology and behavior of Illinois’ two rabbit species — the Eastern Cottontail and the Swamp Rabbit, which are both are legal game species — as well as what to look for when you’re scouting for them in the field.
General Rabbit Behavior for Hunters
Both the Eastern Cottontail and the Swamp Rabbit have several general traits in common that are important for hunters to understand if they wish to be successful.
- They have EXCELLENT vision, hearing, and sense of smell
- They generally spend their days under cover napping, grooming, etc. but will sometimes come out to feed
- They spend early mornings and late afternoons/evenings/nights feeding
- To escape danger, they will:
- Flush: Run up to 18 mph in a zig-zag pattern
- Freeze
- Slink
- They will often pause when fleeing danger to attempt to pin-point where the threat currently is
- Rabbits generally move remarkably quietly through thick brush
- When running from dogs, rabbits tend to follow their known trails and run in a large loops or figure 8 that starts from where they were flushed and ends roughly in that same area in nearby safe spot (thick cover, den, etc.). This is generally what beaglers/basseters want to happen and when they prefer to take their shots. Knowing this behavior gives hunters an opportunity to position themselves in a spot with a clear shot that should intersect a path the rabbit is likely to take. Extremely thick brush, dens and holes, and the ability of the rabbit to cause a dog to lose their scent all give the rabbits the chase to escape.
Eastern Cottontail (Sylvilagus floridanus)
Physical Characteristics
- Body length: 14-16 inches
- Weight: 2 to 4lbs, normally, in Illinois
- Rusty brown fur with an orangey patch on the base of the neck
- White throat, belly, and underside of tail
- Large ears
Habitat & Behavior
Found statewide in Illinois, primarily in prairie and edge habitat. It has a plant-based diet that varies based on the time of year, but includes ag crops, urban landscaping, seeds, bark, twigs, alfalfa, clover, grasses, dandelions, blackberries and other fruit, etc.
Swamp Rabbit (Sylvilagus aquaticus)
Physical Characteristics
- Body length: 16-22 inches
- Weight: 4.75 to 5lbs
- Bigger than the Eastern Cottontail!
- Coarse, reddish-brown fur with black ticking, tan fur on feet
- White belly fur with orange fur between the front legs
- Ears are short and rounded
- Orange ring around the eye
Habitat & Behavior
Swamp rabbits are only found in the southern third of Illinois, where they are common. They are generally found in edge habitats (like cane thickets), bottomland forests, and swamps. Like the Eastern Cottontail, also eat plant matter, but because of their preference for more aquatic habitats, they eat aquatic vegetation as well.
One of the more unique behaviors of the Swamp Rabbit is that they will swim, even if not being chased.
How to Scout for Rabbits: Tracks, Scat, and Other Sign
What To Look For
Tracks & Scat
Habitat Features & Other Types of Sign
Rabbits will eat pretty much any plant matter, especially in the winter (including tree bark, which they “girdle”). However, they need to be able to quickly escape into cover to protect themselves from predators (including birds of prey), so be sure to keep an eye out for large brush piles, thickets, piles of cut branches or trees, or areas dense with rose or blackberry thickets that make it difficult for larger mammals to move around. They also can be found in tall, thicker grass that help obscure them.
You are much less likely to find rabbits in very dense woods and in areas with very short grasses (like lawns) with no cover.
Where and When to Look For It
Rabbits like to sun themselves, especially in the winter. Be sure to look for tracks, scat, and other types of sign near the edges of thick cover in areas that get sun, and on south-facing slopes, as these stay warmer than north-facing slopes and are more likely to contain wildlife in the winter.
Use the snow to your advantage, as well. It is much easier to find rabbit sign (and to spot rabbits with and without dogs) when there is snow on the ground.
Putting it All Together: How to Apply Rabbit Habitat, Behavior, Ecology, Scouted Sign to Your Hunt
Location
After determining where you can legally hunt rabbits near you and narrowing those areas down further with some in-person scouting, you should have a better idea as to what specific locations look most promising for rabbits, and where you should focus your efforts when you begin hunting. It never hurts to keep in mind the other areas you scouted, especially if you plan on hunting with dogs, but ranking your most promising areas (areas where you saw the most sign, have the best cover and food, etc.) and focusing on those spots can save you a lot of frustration.
Timing
Now that you know where you should do, you need to think about when to go there to maximize your chances of success.
Eastern Cottontails and Swamp Rabbits are most active around dawn to mid-morning and early evening to dusk, when they spend their time feeding (Eastern Cottontails do often shift their feeding behaviors to later in the evening during the winter, but since you may only legally hunt rabbits for a half hour before sunrise until a half hour after sunset in Illinois, that behavior shift doesn’t help us as hunters much).
As a result, you will want to time your hunt to align with when the rabbits will be active: near dawn and near dusk (although if you have a mild day and an area with good cover, you may have a chance to find Cottontails active during the day).
Next Steps: Gear, Methods, and Strategies
Now that you know more about the two Illinois rabbit species and the basics of their habitat, behavior, ecology, and what to look for when you’re scouting, it’s time learn about the gear you need, the methods available to you, and the best strategies to try within those methods to set yourself up for success — everything you need to know before the shot.