Guide
Rabbit
The rabbit is a small burrowing herbivore, and its droppings — tidy, dry, pea-sized balls — are among the most familiar wildlife signs in grassy places.
Identifying the droppings
- Pellets are small round balls, roughly 0.7–1 cm across, drier and more crumbly than the glossy pellets of deer.
- They are packed with visible plant fibre, since rabbits digest coarse grass.
- You often find them scattered while feeding, or concentrated at latrine spots and scrapes near a burrow.
- Grassland, farmland, gardens, dunes, and field edges are the classic places to see them.
In the field
Rabbits use communal latrines — small patches where many pellets accumulate — often on a mound or scrape that also serves as a scent-marking post. A dense pile of pea-sized balls near a burrow entrance is a reliable rabbit sign.
The trickiest look-alike is the hare, whose pellets are slightly larger and often a little flatter. Habitat helps: rabbits favour burrow systems in banks and gardens, while hares rest in open forms above ground.
Game facts
- Class
- Mammal
- Diet
- Herbivore
- Habitat
- Grassland, Farmland, Forest
- Region
- Europe, Africa, Oceania, South America
- Typical adult weight
- 1.8 kg
- Typical body length
- 40 cm
- Activity
- Active at dawn and dusk
- Social pattern
- Often in groups
- Conservation
- Endangered
- Puzzle photos
- 8
In the game
Rabbit and hare feel close in the game; the answer usually comes down to size, region, and the exact mix of habitats.
Similar guesses
Hare Roe deer Goat
Photo sources
Image credits are shown after each puzzle to avoid spoiling the answer.
- Rabbit-droppings.pngPalaeoMal, cropped by Zanaq · CC BY-SA 4.0
- Pogonatum urnigerum amongst rabbit droppings.jpgDes Callaghan · CC BY-SA 4.0
- Droppings feral rabbit n2.jpgJastrow · Public domain