ave
been larger had bait remained in all the traps.

Except for those flushed, cottontails were seldom seen by day. In walks
through the study area approximately three times as many cottontails
were flushed at night as in the daytime. On cloudy days cottontails
were active longer than on bright days. On dark nights more cottontails
were captured in live-traps between 11:00 P.M. and dawn than on bright
moonlight nights.

Cottontails were more active (as determined by trap success and
frequency of observation) at temperatures between 0 deg. F. and 33 deg. F. than
at temperatures between 33 deg. F. and 55 deg. F. Activity of the cottontail
increased as the temperature of the air decreased. Activity increased
in proportion to the percentage of ground covered by snow. Activity of
the cottontail decreased as precipitation increased; there was less
activity in rain than in snow and less activity in wet snow than in dry
snow. Activity did not vary significantly with depth of snow until snow
was more than 8 inches deep, when activity decreased abruptly.

The average of the longest distance traveled between captures for
cottontails whose entire home ranges were thought to have been sampled
was 900 feet for males and 684 feet for females. The average of the
maximum distance across the home range for cottontails whose home range
had been thoroughly sampled was 1019 feet for males, and 936 feet for
females.

The home range is used by the cottontail in different ways, depending
on the needs of the individual and the condition of the habitat. In
uniform habitat the home range is roughly circular and is used most
near its center and least toward its periphery. The entire home range
is traversed every four or five days. The center of the home range has
been called the "center of activity" (Connell, 1954).

In habitat of alternating woodland and grassland, such as that on the
University of Kansas Natural History Reservation, two centers of
activity often developed in the home range of a cottontail, at opposite
edges of a tract of woodland. The individual concentrated its movements
near one center for three to five days then moved to the other center.
Pursuit by a predator, random movement, or other cause may be
responsible for shift from one edge to another.

PLATE 45

[Illustration: FIG. 1. "House Field" viewed from the northeast corner,
looking southwest, March 3, 1956, showing the condition of vegetation
in winter. Traps were