That flash of brown darting under your rhododendron isn’t just “a rabbit.” Portland’s unique position between the Willamette Valley floor and the Cascade foothills means you could be watching any of four distinct rabbit species, each with its own story of how it came to call this region home.
One’s a Midwest transplant from the 1930s, another rarely ventures more than a few feet from dense blackberry tangles, and the most elusive transforms from brown to white as winter arrives.
Learning to distinguish them turns casual backyard sightings into windows into Oregon’s complex wildlife tapestry.
1. Eastern Cottontail
The eastern cottontail (Sylvilagus floridanus) is the rabbit you’re most likely to spot in Portland neighborhoods, parks, and gardens. This species isn’t native to Oregon—it was introduced from the Midwest in the 1930s and 1940s—but it has adapted remarkably well to life in the Willamette Valley, becoming the most common rabbit in urban and suburban areas throughout the Portland metro.
Identifying Features
Eastern cottontails are the largest cottontail species in Oregon, with adults weighing between 2 to 4 pounds. You’re looking at a rabbit roughly the size of a small housecat, measuring 14 to 17 inches from nose to tail. The overall coloration is brownish, becoming darker (almost black) on the rump and transitioning to lighter buffy brown on the flanks.
What really helps identify this species is the distinctive orangy-brown patch on the nape of the neck without any black hairs mixed in. The head matches the same color as the back, creating a uniform appearance. Look closely at the fur on the back, and you’ll notice individual hairs with steel gray bases followed by bands of brownish black, buff, and black. The belly fur is white with gray bases, creating a slightly splotched appearance when the wind ruffles the fur. The tail is completely white to the base—a key identification feature.
Some individuals sport a white spot on the forehead, though this isn’t universal. The ears are relatively large and help with both hearing predators and regulating body temperature during Portland’s warmer months.
Key Insight: Eastern cottontails in the Portland area likely descended from Missouri stock introduced near Battle Ground, Washington in 1933, though the exact origin remains uncertain. These rabbits spread throughout the Willamette Valley and have become the dominant rabbit species in developed areas.
Where You’ll Find Them
Eastern cottontails have adapted brilliantly to suburban life. They thrive in the Willamette Valley’s mix of large blackberry clumps interlaced around small white oak, ash, and black cottonwood trees, interspersed among grasses and forbs. You’ll find them in landscaped yards, city parks, along greenways, and anywhere that offers a combination of thick cover and open foraging areas.
These rabbits are most active at dusk and dawn, though you might spot them during the day, especially in quieter neighborhoods. They don’t wander far, typically spending their lives within a relatively small home range. During the day, they rest under thick brush, branches of trees, or in burrows created by other animals—cottontails don’t dig their own burrows.
Look for them near dense Himalayan blackberry patches, snowberry bushes, wild rose thickets, and other thick vegetation that provides quick escape routes. They particularly like areas where mowed grass or legumes grow close to protective cover, giving them safe feeding opportunities within a quick dash of safety.
Behavior and Diet
Eastern cottontails breed year-round in Portland’s mild climate, though their peak breeding season runs from spring through late summer. Females can have up to three litters per year, with an average of five young per litter. The babies are born hairless and blind in shallow bowl-like nests called “forms” that the mother lines with grass and fur.
Common Mistake: If you find a nest of baby cottontails in your yard, resist the urge to relocate them or check on them frequently. Mother rabbits only visit the nest briefly at dusk and dawn to nurse, staying away the rest of the time to avoid attracting predators. The babies aren’t abandoned—this is normal cottontail behavior.
Their diet consists primarily of green vegetation including dandelions, grass, and new growth on woody plants during spring through fall. In winter, they switch to small woody twigs and bark from plants like red maple, apple, willow, and various shrubs. You might notice clean, chiseled bite marks on young shoots and branches if cottontails are feeding in your garden.
These rabbits face numerous predators in Portland, including coyotes, domestic cats, hawks, and owls. Their primary defense is remaining motionless when they sense danger, then sprinting away in zigzag patterns if the threat approaches. They’re surprisingly fast runners when motivated, though they can’t maintain top speed for long distances.
2. Mountain Cottontail
The mountain cottontail (Sylvilagus nuttallii) represents Portland’s connection to higher elevations and eastern Oregon’s drier landscapes. While this species is common throughout most of Oregon east of the Cascade Range, it’s much less frequently encountered in the Portland metro area itself. However, if you venture into the foothills or higher elevations around the city, you might cross paths with this medium-sized rabbit.
Physical Characteristics
Mountain cottontails are intermediate in size, typically lighter and more compact than eastern cottontails. The overall coloration is light grayish-brown, giving them excellent camouflage against rocky terrain and sagebrush habitats. Their most distinctive features are the white tail and relatively broad, rounded ears that are more densely haired than other cottontail species.
Adults are noticeably smaller than eastern cottontails, and their build appears more streamlined. The fur has a slightly different texture, appearing softer and more uniform in color compared to the eastern cottontail’s varied banding. In direct comparison, the mountain cottontail’s ears are shorter and rounder, adapted for the cooler temperatures of higher elevations.
When you watch a mountain cottontail move, you’ll notice it takes distinctively short leaps compared to the longer bounds of hares. This hopping pattern, combined with their preference for pausing frequently to assess their surroundings, makes them relatively easy to identify once you’ve learned to recognize their movement style.
Pro Tip: Mountain cottontails are known to climb juniper trees to feed—behavior rarely seen in other rabbit species. If you spot a rabbit in a tree in Oregon’s drier eastern regions, it’s almost certainly a mountain cottontail.
Habitat and Range
In Oregon, mountain cottontails occur throughout the state east of the Cascade Range, with a western extension into Josephine County in southwestern Oregon. Around Portland, you’re unlikely to encounter this species in urban or suburban areas. Instead, they inhabit rocky outcrops with nearby vegetation consisting of big sagebrush, bitterbrush, rabbitbrush, western juniper, and mountain mahogany.
These rabbits prefer elevations from about 600 to 5,500 feet in Oregon, placing them in the transition zones between valley floors and high mountain habitats. They favor areas with a mix of rocky terrain for shelter and open areas with low vegetation for feeding. Unlike the adaptable eastern cottontail, mountain cottontails remain closely tied to their preferred habitat types.
During the day, they rest under sagebrush, in rock crevices, or in shallow depressions they’ve scratched out themselves. They’re most active during dawn and dusk, venturing out to feed in nearby clearings while remaining close to cover. When startled, they typically run a short distance, then freeze with ears erect before potentially making another short dash to safety.
Life Cycle and Ecology
Mountain cottontails breed during spring and summer, with the timing varying by elevation and location. In Oregon’s lower elevations, breeding may begin in February, while higher elevation populations start later. Gestation lasts about 29 days, and females produce an average of 3.5 litters during the breeding season, with 4 to 5 young per litter in the Pacific Northwest.
The young are altricial—born helpless and blind—and require about one month of maternal care before weaning. This makes them vulnerable to the many predators that hunt rabbits, including coyotes, bobcats, hawks, owls, and rattlesnakes.
These rabbits spend approximately half their waking hours feeding, primarily at dusk and dawn in clearings near cover or directly in brush. They’re not social animals and tend to live solitary lives, though they may congregate on popular feeding grounds where food is abundant. Like all rabbits, they practice coprophagy, re-ingesting soft fecal pellets to extract maximum nutrition from their plant-based diet.
Important Note: Mountain cottontails face increasing competition from eastern cottontails in some regions where their ranges overlap. Climate change and habitat fragmentation also threaten populations, though the species remains stable across most of its range.
3. Brush Rabbit
The brush rabbit (Sylvilagus bachmani) is Oregon’s smallest cottontail and one of the most habitat-specific rabbits you’ll encounter. This species is native to western Oregon and represents the Pacific Northwest’s original rabbit population, predating the introduction of eastern cottontails. In the Portland area, brush rabbits persist in locations that maintain the dense, thick vegetation they require for survival.
Size and Appearance
Brush rabbits are noticeably smaller than eastern cottontails, appearing more compact and shorter-legged. Adults typically weigh between 1.5 to 2.5 pounds, making them the bantamweight of Portland’s rabbit species. Their ears are shorter and more rounded compared to other cottontails, and their overall appearance is more uniform in color.
The coat is brownish-gray, lacking the distinctive orangy nape patch of the eastern cottontail. The tail is small and dark on top, without the prominent white underside that characterizes many other rabbit species. This darker tail helps distinguish brush rabbits from their cottontail cousins when you manage to get a good look at them retreating into cover.
Their compact build and shorter legs are adaptations for navigating through extremely dense vegetation. While this makes them less visible than other rabbit species, it also makes them perfectly suited for the thick blackberry tangles and brushy understory that characterizes much of western Oregon’s native habitat.
Habitat Requirements
Brush rabbits are remarkably faithful to dense cover, rarely venturing more than a few meters from extremely thick brush. They create and maintain intricate networks of runways interlaced through brushy clumps into surrounding grassy areas, keeping these pathways clear of vegetation for quick escape routes.
In the Portland area, look for brush rabbits in locations with thick Himalayan blackberry, native snowberry, wild rose bushes, and similar dense vegetation. They occur in the Willamette Valley and other interior valleys, in coastal areas, and in valleys along coastal streams from the Columbia River southward. Their range extends from the foothills of the Cascade Range westward, though they’ve lost ground to eastern cottontails in many areas.
Unlike eastern cottontails that have adapted to suburban lawns and parks, brush rabbits need truly dense vegetation. They’re most common in undeveloped areas, restoration sites with thick native plantings, and edges of natural areas where blackberries and native shrubs form impenetrable tangles. If you have a wild, unmaintained section of your property with thick brush, you might harbor brush rabbits.
Behavioral Patterns
Brush rabbits are extremely shy and secretive. They’re primarily crepuscular (active at dawn and dusk) and nocturnal, though they may be active during the day in areas with minimal disturbance. When they sense danger, they freeze first, relying on their camouflage and stillness to avoid detection. If the threat continues approaching, they burst from cover and dash for the nearest thick vegetation, disappearing into brush so dense that predators can’t follow.
Their feeding behavior reflects their cautious nature. They venture only short distances from cover to feed on grasses, forbs, and other green vegetation. The runway system they maintain allows them to move quickly between feeding spots and safety, never spending more than a moment in the open.
Breeding occurs throughout spring and summer, with females producing multiple litters of 2 to 5 young. Like other cottontails, the babies are born helpless in grass-lined nests and require several weeks of care before venturing out independently. The species’ reliance on dense cover means successful reproduction depends on maintaining suitable habitat patches.
Population Status
Brush rabbits face significant challenges in the modern landscape. They’ve been largely replaced by eastern cottontails in many areas where habitat has been modified or fragmented. Eastern cottontails can tolerate more open, modified habitats and often outcompete brush rabbits where the two species overlap.
Conservation of brush rabbit populations requires maintaining and restoring the dense, shrubby habitats they depend on. In Portland and throughout western Oregon, preserving blackberry thickets, native shrub communities, and other thick vegetation—even when it seems “messy” by landscaping standards—provides essential habitat for this native species.
4. Snowshoe Hare
The snowshoe hare (Lepus americanus) is technically a hare, not a rabbit, and this distinction matters more than semantics. While you’re unlikely to encounter snowshoe hares in Portland’s urban core, they inhabit the higher elevations of the Cascade Range accessible within a short drive from the city. Understanding this species completes your knowledge of the region’s lagomorphs and explains the ecological connections between Portland’s lowlands and nearby mountains.
Distinctive Features
Snowshoe hares are larger than any cottontail species you’ll encounter in the Portland area. Adults weigh between 2 to just over 3 pounds, but their longer legs and larger hind feet make them appear significantly bigger. The most remarkable feature is their seasonal color change: individuals in populations east of the Cascades turn completely white in winter, while those in western Oregon (including areas near Portland) typically remain dark brown year-round or show only partial whitening.
In summer pelage, snowshoe hares are dark brown with a tail that’s dusky to white on the underside. Their ears are longer than cottontails’ but lack the black tips of jackrabbits. The most distinctive feature is their oversized hind feet with well-furred soles, especially prominent in winter. These snowshoe-like feet (which give the species its name) distribute weight across snow and provide traction on icy surfaces.
The ears remain black-tipped even when the body turns white, making winter snowshoe hares unmistakable. Juveniles have much coarser hair than cottontail young, and leverets (baby hares) are born fully furred with their eyes open—a key difference from rabbits, whose young are born blind and hairless.
Habitat and Elevation
Around Portland, snowshoe hares are found at higher elevations in the Cascade Range, typically in areas with dense coniferous forests and appropriate brushy cover. They prefer forests with young conifers, especially those with lower branches touching the ground, and favor fir and western larch interspersed with small clearings vegetated by grasses and forbs.
You’re most likely to encounter snowshoe hares during summer hikes in the Cascades above 2,000 feet elevation. They inhabit riparian areas along mountain streams, thickets of salal, and dense understory in mature forests. Unlike cottontails that live in relatively small home ranges, hares may travel more extensively, especially during breeding season or when searching for better cover or food sources.
Important Note: Snowshoe hares can only be legally hunted during specific seasons in Oregon. Always check current regulations before hunting, and remember that pygmy rabbits and white-tailed jackrabbits are protected due to low populations and cannot be hunted.
Behavior and Ecology
Snowshoe hares are primarily nocturnal and crepuscular, spending daylight hours resting under thick brush or in forms. They’re solitary animals for most of the year, though males aggressively compete for females during breeding season. Their courtship displays involve high-speed chases and impressive jumps.
In summer, they feed on grasses, ferns, and leaves; in winter, their diet shifts to twigs and bark from trees and shrubs including birch, willow, alder, and blueberry. Unlike cottontails that create distinct chiseled cuts when feeding, hares’ browsing patterns show slightly different characteristics based on their larger size and jaw structure.
Hares are built for speed and explosive movement. They can launch into a full run from a sitting position, reaching bursts of 25 to 35 miles per hour—significantly faster than cottontails. This speed is essential for escaping the numerous predators that hunt them, including lynx, bobcats, coyotes, foxes, hawks, and owls.
Breeding occurs from March through late summer, with females capable of having up to four litters per year with one to nine young per litter. The leverets are precocial—born fully furred, mobile, and weighing about 2.5 ounces.
This represents a fundamental difference from rabbits and reflects the hare’s evolutionary strategy of producing offspring ready to flee predators within hours of birth.
Quick Identification Table
| Feature | Eastern Cottontail | Mountain Cottontail | Brush Rabbit | Snowshoe Hare |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Size | 2-4 lbs (largest) | 1.5-3 lbs (medium) | 1.5-2.5 lbs (smallest) | 2-3+ lbs (long-legged) |
| Tail | White to base | White, rounded | Dark on top | Dusky to white below |
| Nape Patch | Orangy-brown | Varies | None distinct | None |
| Ears | Large | Broad, rounded, dense fur | Short, rounded | Long, black-tipped |
| Winter Color | Brown year-round | Brown year-round | Brown year-round | White (eastern Cascades) or brown (west) |
| Where in Portland | Urban/suburban yards, parks | Rare; foothills only | Dense brush, natural areas | High Cascades only |
| Habitat | Adaptable; blackberries + lawns | Rocky areas, sagebrush | Extremely dense brush | Dense conifers, mountain thickets |
| Young | Born blind, hairless | Born blind, hairless | Born blind, hairless | Born furred, eyes open |
Portland’s four rabbit and hare species represent different chapters in the region’s natural history. Eastern cottontails demonstrate how introduced species can thrive in human-modified landscapes, often becoming more common than native wildlife.
Brush rabbits remind us of Oregon’s original rabbit fauna, clinging to the dense vegetation that once dominated western valleys. Mountain cottontails connect the valley floor to the dry eastern foothills, rarely crossing into urban territory.
And snowshoe hares embody the Cascade wilderness, changing with the seasons and remaining wild symbols of the mountains visible from downtown.
Next time you spot a rabbit in your yard or on a trail, take a moment to observe its size, coloration, habitat, and behavior. You’re not just seeing “a rabbit”—you’re witnessing one of four distinct species, each with its own adaptations, history, and ecological role in the greater Portland landscape.
That knowledge transforms a simple wildlife sighting into a deeper connection with the complex web of life that exists right outside your door.
