NOTES ON THE THAMIN OR BROW-ANTLERED DEER. 327 



In Upper, as well as in Lower Burma, I have frequently found 

 them in scrub and in open tree jungle (Eng-daing) y which consists 

 of Dipterocarpus tuberculatisj and other trees of this order which 

 flourish on laterite soil. The animals resort to these places for shade, 

 grasses, &c. 



Thamin are gregarious in their habits, keep very much to them- 

 selves, and though Para (Axis porcinus) abound on the same grounds, 

 I have never seen the two species grazing together. The herds usually 

 number from eight to sixty, but the latter number is often exceeded. 

 During the dry weather fires occur, the result being clearings large 

 and small, and as at this time of year the dew is particularly heavy, it 

 is not long before the young grass sprouts up. There are also open 

 patches (called hvins by the Burmans) — low-lying grounds which are 

 swampy during the rains, but which retain sufficient moisture in the 

 dry season to maintain the growth of grasses, thus affording 

 luxuriant pasturage. In these places Thamin may be found grazing 

 in the early morning and evening. Other favourite resorts are 

 the shallow Choungs or Nullas ; and in such places, as soon as the 

 water dries up, which is early in the hot weather, a very quick-grow- 

 ing leguminous plant springs up, of which these creatures, as well as 

 Para, are very fond. The time for grazing is, off and on, between 

 3-30 p.m. and 9-30 a.m., after which hour they retire into the long 

 grass to rest, and avoid the heat of the day. When it is exceedingly 

 hot, and the flies very troublesome, the stags often come out for a short 

 time to wallow in a bog-hole. There is a common belief, and, I think, 

 an erroneous one, that Thamin rarely if ever drink during the dry 

 season ; this idea has probably arisen from the fact that fresh water is 

 then uncommonly scarce, but I fancy if it were plentiful and more 

 accessible, they would be more frequently observed partaking of it. 

 During the rains, on certain low-lying grounds, large ponds are formed, 

 which retain a good amount of water in the hot weather, but Thamin 

 rarely have access to such spots, as they are invariably leased out for 

 fishing purposes. However, a Burman, whom I know well, and who 

 had the rights over one of these fisheries, informed me that Thamin 

 came in late every evening to drink at a waste pool, about four hundred 

 yards distant from his shed ; at the same time he mentioned the case of 

 a sporting Eurasian, who succeeded in killing a few animals by lying 



