THE MOUFLON 51 



of the upper part of the fore-legs and thighs, are 

 reddish fawn, with an admixture of black hairs, or 

 reddish brown with a tinge of ashy grey. On the 

 sides of the back is a quadrangular area, or saddle- 

 patch, of a yellowish white or whitish colour ; and 

 from the base of the neck to the tip of the tail runs 

 a dark brown or blackish spinal stripe. The lower 

 sides of the neck and breast are blackish, and on the 

 front border of the upper part of the fore-leg is a 

 blackish streak, a similar band running along each 

 flank to divide the dark of the upper-parts from the 

 white of the belly. The crown of the head and the 

 sides of the face are blackish ash-grey ; and a 

 blackish line extends backwards from each angle of 

 the mouth, and unites with its fellow on the throat. 

 The muzzle, a ring round each eye, the inner sur- 

 face of the ears, the lower parts of the legs, from 

 the knees and hocks downwards, the buttocks, the 

 borders of the tail, and the whole of the under-parts 

 are white ; while the inner sides of the limbs are 

 dirty grey. 



In the winter coat the whole animal becomes 

 darker, the general colour tending to chestnut- 

 brown, with a larger admixture of black. The 

 spinal stripe, for instance, is almost completely 

 black, especially on the withers. Younger rams 

 are brighter in colour than the adults, with the 

 hind part of the back light yellowish, and the upper 

 surface of the tail fawn-brown. Ewes, although 



