Its fluffy tail is very white. It holds its tail up like a white flag as it runs. It stays almost the same colour all year. Cottontails prefer open country, such as areas with low brush, fence rows, fields of tall grass, tangled thickets, and piled brush. They often build their nests near streams although they do not go into the water willingly.
European rabbits live in hills with many tunnels.
This is called a 'warren'. Cottontails do not live in warrens. Each rabbit digs out a depression or hole in the ground big enough to hide itself well. This simple nest is called a 'form'. They dig the form to hide and shelter themselves and their young bunnies.