Eastern Cottontail Rabbit

by Sandi OReilly

Title

Eastern Cottontail Rabbit

Artist

Sandi OReilly

Medium

Painting - Painting, Digital Art

Description

This image is taken from photographs of the rabbits that inhabit our yard almost every year. Last year, the female had her nest in a bush right next to our house in our front yard by our sidewalk. We got to see her young at a very early age. This image was painted and digitally painted. I also used some textures to give it more depth when printed.

The eastern cottontail is chunky red-brown or gray-brown in appearance with large hind feet, long ears and a short fluffy white tail. Its underside fur is white. There is a rusty patch on the tail. Its appearance differs from that of a hare in that it has a brownish-gray coloring around the head and neck. The body is lighter color with a white underside on the tail. It has large brown eyes and large ears to see and listen for danger. In winter the cottontail's pelage is more gray than brown. The kits develop the same coloring after a few weeks, but they also have a white blaze that goes down their forehead; this marking eventually disappears. The eastern cottontail is a very territorial animal. When chased, it runs in a zigzag pattern, running up to 18 mph. The cottontail prefers an area where it can hide quickly but be out in the open. Forests, swamps, thickets, bushes, or open areas where shelter is close by are optimal habitation sites for this species.

Fine Art Wildlife Photography by Sandi O'Reilly, All Rights Reserved and Copyrighted in the US and Internationally.

ALL FAA WATERMARKS ARE REMOVED AT THE TIME OF PURCHASE!! Thank you for visiting my gallery.

Uploaded

March 20th, 2014

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