Brush Rabbits, Point Reyes National Seashore

A couple of years ago I was on the road to Pierce Point when all of the sudden the road became full of rabbits.  They seemed unusually small to me at the time and I couldn’t believe how many there were.  If I researched what they were then I’ve forgotten.   Well, just the other day I saw a few more of these small rabbits and I was able to photograph them.  Here’s a photo of one of them.

A brush rabbit stops briefly in an opening in the brush at Abbott's Lagoon.
Brush Rabbit, Point Reyes National Seashore

Now that I had photographed one I had to find out what it was. That was easy thanks to Google.  These small rabbits are brush rabbits. The name sure fits given where I found them.  If they look like cottontails to you that’s because they are a type of cottontail.  They are different in two ways though.  First, they don’t have any white on their tails.  Second, they are noticeably smaller than other cottontails.  As I photographed them I noticed that they didn’t stay in the little opening where I photographed them for very long.  I think that those that do stay longer tend to live shorter lives.