Why is the correct counter for rabbits 羽（わ）


Why is the correct counter for rabbits 羽（わ）, the counter that is used for
birds.

I figured it is because they jump, cause fly and jump are the same verb in
Japanese, but then frogs are 匹.




I also heard the Buddhist monk story, but another theory is that while the
word ウサギ is theorized to have come to Japanese from a Sanskrit origin through
Korea, it was reinterpreted by some as う+鷺, providing a linguistic connection
to birds and to the 羽 counter.




The usual story is that Japanese Buddhist monks, who were unable to eat meat
other than birds, liked the taste of rabbit so much that they "reclassified"
them as flightless birds due to their various body features.

