ONAGER. 31 



or markedly sinuous ; the tail-tuft is moderate, and the dark dorsal 

 stripe is very broad, in some cases stopping short of the tail-tuft, 

 and bordered_, at least posteriorly, by a band of white or whitish, 

 which joins the white on the buttocks and the back of the thighs. 

 The upper-parts, in the summer coat, are usually some shade of 

 pale reddish fawn or sandy (isabellinej ; while the light areas, 

 which vary from pure white to whity brown, are much the same 

 in extent as those of E. hemionus, but extend more on to the 

 buttocks, and thence along the sides of the dorsal stripe, and in 

 some cases occupy more of the body and head. In winter the long 

 and rough coat becomes more or less decidedly grey, and in one 

 race is distinctly mouse-grey with sharply defined white areas. 



The cry of the Indian Ghor-khar is a '• shrieking bray,^^ and 

 therefore not unlike that of the Kiang ; but in the case of the 

 Syrian Onager, and probably also in that of the true Onager, it is 

 stated to be more like that of the Ass, to the wild forms of which 

 the species approximates in its narrow hoofs, broad dorsal stripe, 

 small tail-tuft, and grey colour of the winter coat in at least one 

 local race. 



The Onager appears to be represented in a Prehistoric sketch 

 incised on a fragment of Reindeer antler discovered in the cave of 

 Kesslerloch, Schaffhausen. 



No specimen of this species is at present exhibited. 



Of the local races of this species, the first is the Indian Ghor- 

 khar (Equus onager indicus) of the deserts of Sind, Kach, and 

 Baluchistan. The height at the shoulder reaches 11^ hands, and 

 the profile of the face is straight. The general colour of the 

 upper-parts is sandy in summer, with the light band on each side 

 of the dorsal stripe narrow, ill-defined^ and whitey-brown in colour, 

 and the white on the rump not pure. The broad dorsal stripe does 

 not reach the tail-tuft. 



The second race is the Kobdo Onager {Equus imarjer castaneuSj 

 fig. 20), from Kirghis-Nor, Kobdo, in Western Mongolia, charac- 

 terised by the straight profile of the face, the rufous isabella hue of 

 the summer coat, the full mouse-grey colour of the winter coat, the 

 large amount of pure white on the buttocks, and the distinctness of 

 the pure white band on each side of the dorsal stripe, which extends 

 quite down to the tail-tuft. The broad chocolate-coloured dorsal 



