Most activity is in the evening or at night. Those rabbits that are weak runners generally shelter in burrows. Hares sometimes shelter in caves or rock crevices. Hares and rabbits also avoid danger by their keen senses of hearing and smell and by the use of alarm signals, such as drumming with the hind feet. This thumping, which can be heard by humans at a distance of several meters, apparently can be detected by other leporids at a considerably greater distance.
Some rabbits emit loud, shrill screams when frightened or captured.
Leporids feed on plant material and, as far as is known, do not store food as do the pikas. Some rabbits, especially Oryctolagus, associate in groups, whereas hares are usually solitary. Pursuit of the opposite sex, flagging of the tail, involuntary urination, caressing, and combat by the males are indications of the breeding season. Females come into estrus a number of times during the year and give birth to several litters. Resorption of the developing embryos often occurs.