250 



CERVINE. 



and the summit more or less bi'anched ; muzzle somewhat pointed; muffle 

 broad, with a hairy band above the lip ; eye-pits moderate ; tail very 

 short, with a disk round it ; hair coarse. Of large size. 



The red-deer of Scotland is the type of this group, and the Indian 

 Fauna includes two species, both outliers of Northern and Central Asia, 

 one in the extreme north-west, and the other in the extreme north-east 

 corner of the province. Some species have only one basal tine. 



217. Cervus Wallichii. 



CuviER.— Blyth, Cat.481.— Figd. F. Cuvier, Mammif. II. pi. 103.— 

 C. pygaryus, apud Hardwicke. — C. caspianus and C. cashmiriensis, Fal- 

 coner. — C. elaphus of Asia apud Pallas. — C. nareyanus, Hodgson 

 (young). — Ilangul or Honglu, in Kashmir. — Barasingha, H. 



The Kashmir Stag. 



Descr. — Horns with the extremity usually trifurcate in adults. General 

 colour brownish-ash, darker along the doi'sal line to the rump ; small 

 caudal disk white, contrasting strongly with the blackish border that 

 merges into the body-colour ; sides and limbs paler ; lips and chin white ; 

 ears whitish ; eyes surrounded by a white circle ; hair on the ridge of 

 the neck long, thick, and bushy, and browner than the rest. 



Length, about 7 to 7| feet ; height 12 to 13 hands ; tail about 5 inches. 



In summer the pelage is bright rufous passing into liver-brown, or 

 " bright pale rufous-chestnut." The belly of the male is dark brown, con- 

 trasting with the pale ashy hue of the lower part of the flanks. The 

 legs have a pale dusky median line. In females the whole lower parts 

 are albescent. In old males the hair of the lower neck is long and shaggy. 

 The horns have frequently twelve points, i. e., z. brow antler, bez-antler, 

 median tine, and a trifurcated tip ; but, sometimes other small points, and 

 occasionally a doubly-forked tip. Fifteen and sixteen, and even eighteen 

 points have been counted ; but such horns are very rare, and ten points 

 are the average of by far the greatest number killed. The average 

 length of the horns may be stated at about 40 inches, but they are 

 stated to reach 4 feet in length. In one pair 40 inches long, the 

 extreme divergence of the snags was 41 inches, and the nearest points 

 at the tip were 24 inches apart. 



The Kashmir stag nearly apjuoaches the red deer of Europe. It 



