223 



He procured it at Hissar, where it is common ; at Mhow, far 

 from rare ; also at Saugor, and near Nagpore, rarely ; but it does 

 not appear to extend into the Gangetic valley, and is rare south of 

 the Nerbudda. 



No. 25, Page 35.Felis Chaus. 

 The Common Jungle Cat. 



Jerdon describes this powerful and savage animal as follows : 



" Yellowish-gray, more or less dark and unspotted, approaching to 

 rufous on the sides of the neck and abdomen, where it unites with 

 the white lower parts ; a dark stripe from the eyes to the muzzle ; 

 ears slightly tufted, rufous black externally, white internally ; limbs 

 with two or three dark stripes internally, occasionally faintly 

 marked externally also ; tail short, more or less annulated with 

 black, most conspicuously in the young. 



Length, head and body, 26 inches ; tail 9 to 10 ; height at 

 shoulder 14 to 15. 



A drawing of this species, in Buchanan Hamilton's collection, 

 has the marks on the limbs very conspicuous externally, and also 

 those on the belly, and the face very rufous ; whilst some from 

 Sindh and the Punjab Salt range, (F. jacquemontii) have no black 

 markings on the limbs, and there are two or three faint blackish 

 rings at the end of the tail. 



This is the common wild cat over all India, from Himalayas to 

 Cape Comorin, and from the level of the sea to 7,000 or 8,000 

 feet of elevation. It frequents alike jungles and the open country, 

 and is very partial to long grass and reeds, sugar-cane fields, corn- 

 fields, &c." 



I have more than once remarked the jackal-like height of 

 this cat. In his Appendix, Jerdon indirectly corroborates this 

 by the following dimensions which he gives of a fine chaus, 

 killed at Amballa ; viz., total length 39 inches, height 18 inches, 

 weight 18 Ibs. 



No. 26, Page 37Felis Caracal. 

 The Red Lynx. 



Jerdon thus describes this animal : 



" General color unspotted vinous brown or bright fulvous brown, 

 paler beneath, almost white in many ; tail concolorous with the 



