DAVID'S DEER 



949 



as a rule, not later than February. The swamp deer is mainly a grazer, and it is 

 said to be much less nocturnal in its habits than the sambur, being not unfre- 

 quently seen grazing in the forenoon, and again early in the afternoon. 



Schomburgk's deer (C. schomburgki], of Siam, is an allied species, 

 Deer ^ wn ^ c ^ ^ e an tiers, as shown in the illustration on p. 948, are dis- 



tinguished by the extreme shortness of the beam below the bifurcation, 

 and the great length of the brow-tine. Each antler usually carries five points; and 

 specimens vary in length from twenty-seven to thirty inches in good examples. 



An altogether unique form of antler is that of Eld's deer 

 (C. eldi), as shown in the figure on p. 928. Here the brow- 

 tine curves down over the forehead, so as to form an almost continuous sweep 

 with the beam; the latter being curved at first backward and outward, and 

 then slightly forward, after which it divides into a short fork, of which the two 

 prongs may split up into as many as eight or ten points. The upper surface of the 

 brow-tine often carries a number of short points, and there is very generally a 

 distinct snag at the point where that tine joins the beam. In some cases the upper 

 part of the beam is much flattened. In height this species stands nearly the same 

 as the swamp deer. In winter the color of the fur of the bucks is dark brown, 

 tending to black, but in summer it is fawn colored, nearly like that of the does at 

 all seasons; the under parts being pale brown in winter and white in summer. The 

 fawns lose their spots at an early age. In the winter the hair is coarse and very 

 shaggy. Average-sized antlers measure about forty inches from the tip of the brow- 

 tine along the curve to the extremity; but one specimen of fifty-four and another of 

 fifty-nine inches have been recorded. 



Eld's deer frequent low, swampy grounds in Maniptir, Burma, the Malay Pen- 

 insula, Cambodia, and the island of Hainan. Mr. Blanford states that they are 

 " usually seen in herds of from ten to fifty or more; but occasionally much larger 

 numbers are found associating. They may enter the fringe of the forest in places 

 for shade, during the day, but they generally keep in the open plain. In some 

 places in the Irawadi delta, and in Martaban, they are found in plains, where, 

 during the dry season, no fresh water is procurable. They are frequently seen in 

 swamps, and feed on wild rice and other plants growing in such places." The 

 period of shedding the antlers varies from June in Manipur to September in Lower 

 Burma. The hinds utter a short barking grunt, while the call of the stags is a 

 more prolonged sound of the same nature. 



DAVID'S DEER (Cervus davidianus) 



Manchuria, or some neighboring region in Northern China, is the habitat of a 

 remarkable deer differing from all other Old- World types in the absence of a brow- 

 tine to the antlers. Instead of the brow-tine, each antler has a single very long and 

 nearly straight tine given off just above the beam, and directed backward; above 

 which the beam ascends for a considerable distance, and then forks. The normal 

 number of points on each antler is accordingly three, but this may be increased by a 

 splitting of each tine of the fork. It appears that the long back-tine represents the 



