THE GAME ANIMALS OF CANADA 39 
It derives its name, the ‘‘red”’ deer, by which it is fre- 
quently known in eastern Canada, from the rusty red or 
yellowish-brown colour of its summer coat; but this name 
is very undesirable, as it leads to confusion with the red 
deer of Europe. The red coat is replaced in the fall by a 
winter coat of brownish gray. 
Distribution.—The white-tailed deer is distributed from 
Nova Scotia to Alberta. Its favourite haunt is brushy 
river bottoms and deep woods that are interspersed with 
open spaces. In the plains regions of the west it haunts 
the tree-lined water-courses. Where its favourite woods 
have been cut down, as in the long-settled parts of Ontario, 
it has disappeared. But, on the other hand, it has followed 
the settlements into the wooded regions where the clearing 
of the forest has provided it with the environment that it 
prefers, and it has thus extended its range northward. On 
the edges of settlements it secures greater protection from 
the wolves that harass it in the deeper recesses of the for- 
ests, and when its natural food is scarce it is able to satisfy 
its hunger on the settlers’ crops. 
Habits —During the winter deer of both sexes herd to- 
gether, often in fairly large bands; and they feed on ever- 
greens, twigs, moss, and such dried grass as they are able 
to obtain. With the advent of spring and the melting of 
the snow the older bucks wander off, leaving the does with 
the young deer of the previous year. In May the does seek 
solitude in the thicker cover of the woods, and there bring 
forth their young. In the first year they usually have one 
fawn; in the second and subsequent years two fawns are 
generally born. Sometimes three fawns are produced, but 
such records are not common. The young fawns lie hidden 
during the day and are visited periodically by the doe, 
which never wanders far away from them. The coats of 
the young fawns are of a rich brown colour, speckled with 
white spots, thus forming a colouration that is very pro- 
