Littledale's Sheep i8 



regard to pasture and water. The open nature of the ground they 

 trequent renders the old rams exceedingly difficult to stalk, and even when 

 they resort to more broken ground, where the actual stalking is easier, their 

 extreme wariness often defeats the most carefully laid plans of the sports- 

 man. The breeding-season is in December and January, when the flocks 

 are at a comparatively low elevation ; and the young are born about the 

 following May or June. 



6. Littledale's Sheep — Ovis sairensis 



Characters. — Size smaller than in either O. ammon or 0. pol'i^ the height 

 at the shoulder being about 3 teet 2 inches. Horns of adult male in some 

 respects intermediate between those ot the two species named, forming a 

 close spiral of rather more than a circle ; decidedly more massive than in 

 poll., with the front angles rounded oiT, and thus more like the typical 

 race of aiuiHoii., although considerably smaller ; those of immature males 

 distinctly angulated. General colour of the upper-parts of adult male in 

 summer pelage full rufous-brown, becoming blackish-brown on hinder part 

 of head, withers, loins, rump, tail, outer surface of thighs, and under-parts ; 

 face, except muzzle, which is dirty white, gray-brown ; legs gradually 

 more and more speckled with white hairs, till from just above the knees 

 and hocks downwards they become white ; sides of head, neck, and throat 

 speckled brownish-gray, becoming impure white in the middle of the chest. 

 Immature males nearly uniform rufous-brown throughout. Females rufous- 

 brown on the upper-parts, with a broad black streak extending from the 

 back of the head to the loins, and widening into a patch in the neighbour- 

 hood of the withers ; under-parts and legs nearly white. In the adult 

 male the horns, of which the tips are broken, measure 46! inches along 

 the front curve, with a basal girth of about 15^ inches, and an in- 

 terval of 27 inches between the tips. The basal girth of the horns is 



2 B 



