H6 CANID.S. 



other smaller, but with shorter tails, said to ascend as high_ as the enow 

 line, and to be very shy." 



Blyth gives a description of a wild dog from Darjeeling, which he was 

 informed Mr. Hodgson had considered distinct from the common one ; 

 " this one (a female) had a considerably more vulpine aspect with longer 

 and softer fur, with much wool at the base, a considerable ruff round the 

 neck, and much lengthened far about the jowl ; the ears also were densely 

 clad both externally and within ; and in a living animal from the same 

 locality, were closely approximated and directed forwards ; a remarkably 

 full" brush, with much less black than usual on the terminal half, but most 

 of the tail having a nigrescent appearance not particularly noticeable at 

 a little distance. All this may merely indicate the winter vesture as 

 assumed in a cold climate ; but the actions of the living animal were 

 decidedly peculiar, and the general appearance as vulpine as that of 

 the ordinary wild dog is jackal-like. It was particularly light, agUe and 

 graceful in its movements ; still I can discover no distinction in the skull, 

 or in the rest of the skeleton, excepting that the metacarpal bones of the 

 Darjeeling specimen are comparatively shorter. Upon present evidence, 

 I can only regard it as a specimen of the common wUd dog in winter 

 vesture as developed in a cold climate." 



In the late edition of Hodgson's Collection Brit. Museum, a second species 

 of wild dog is described as Guon grayiformis, with the following descrip- 

 tion : — " Deep uniform red, deeper than rust, paler and flavescent below ; 

 lining of ears, chaifron, and end of tail nigrescent. Hair close and short, no 

 feathering of limbs nor brush to tail. Form slighter than in other species, 

 and larger — that is in largest dimensions." Length, head and body, 3 feet 

 1 inch; tail 16 inches. This was from Darjeeling. It will be observed that 

 this does not tally with Mr. Blyth's description above. Some young wild 

 dogs were brought to Darjeeling whilst I was there, which did not appear 

 to me at the time to differ in any material point from others I had seen in 

 various parts of India. Specimens from the Eastern Ghits perhaps differ 

 more from those of other parts. They have the color lighter and more ful- 

 vous, the tail less brushed and concolorous with the body, or nearly so ; and 

 the hair shorter. Those from Coorg and the Malabar forests have the tail 

 blackish, and moderately bushy, and closely resemble others from Central 

 India, and one represented in a drawing of Buchanan Hamilton's. Mr. 

 Blyth wrote from me Madras, stating that some specimens he had seen in 

 the Museum there, liml rather staggered him as to thi' unity of the species. 



