250 LLOYDS NATURAL HISTORY. 



withers about 25 inches. Fawn yellowish-red in autumn, with 

 several longitudinal rows of whitish spots. 



In form the Roe has a moderately full body, long and slender 

 limbs, the neck of moderate length and considerable thickness, 

 the head tapering, with a rather narrow muzzle, the eyes large 

 and full, the ears long and pointed, and the rudimentary tail 

 concealed among the fur. The hair is close, stiff, of moderate 

 length, and structurally very similar to that of the Red Deer ; 

 there being a slight intermixture of woolly under-fur. For the 

 greater part of their length the hairs are purplish grey, then 

 dusky, with the tips reddish-brown or yellowish-grey, according 

 to the season. In addition to her considerably inferior stature, 

 the doe is lighter coloured than the buck. 



Although the antlers, as already said, normally have only 

 three tines, they are very liable to " sport," and some remark- 

 able specimens are contained in the collection of Viscount 

 Powerscourt, at Powerscourt in Ireland, in which the antlers 

 consist of a bushy mass of points. 



Distribution. — The Common Roe is widely distributed in 

 Europe and Western Asia ; but is replaced in Turkestan and 

 the mountains between Russia and China by the Tartarian Roe 

 {C. pygargiis), distinguished by its larger size, more hairy ears, 

 and the smaller size of the white disc on the rump. 



That the Roe, although totally unknown in Ireland, was 

 formerly distributed over the remainder of the British Islands, 

 is attested by the occurrence of its remains in the Norfolk 

 forest-bed, the brick-earths of the Thames Valley, the fens of 

 Cambridgeshire and Lincolnshire, and also in a number of 

 English caverns. Although at the present day mainly re- 

 stricted to Scotland, Wild Roe are still found sparingly in North- 

 umberland, Cumberland, and Durham, while at the com- 

 mencement of the present century they were reintroduced 



