Seasonal Changes in Roadside Activity of Cottontails

In an earlier finding (Lord, 1959), greater numbers of cottontail rabbits (Sylvilagus floridanus mearnsi) were recorded for most months of the year during roadside censuses at night rather than in early morning. The data from the above finding showed that as many or more rabbits could be seen at night than in early morning along roadsides in winter. To an extent this observation contradicts the findings of Rowe (1948) and Hendrickson and Voris (1957) who found mid-July to be the best period for observing the greatest number of rabbits along roadsides. They, however, made their censuses in the early morning, not at night. With the object of determining whether there might be seasonal changes in the time of greatest roadside activity of rabbits, a program of night-long censusing of cottontails was begun and repeated several times monthly for