THE COLORATION OF LARGE ANIMALS 25 
red-deer—it seems to be certainly analogous to the change 
from a spotted to a uniform coat in the Japanese and fallow- 
deer, and must therefore be for the purpose of protection. 
Prima facie, it might have been thought that the winter 
dress would be red, since this tint would apparently har- 
monise well with the russet hue of fallen leaves and dead 
bracken. The tone of the summer dress is, however, very 
similar to the ground-colour of the coat of the Peking and 
Japanese deer at the same season, although we have yet 
to learn why a uniformly red tint is more advantageous 
in the case of the roe and the white-tail than a spotted 
dress. Possibly it may be owing to the more open nature 
of the country frequented by these and other species in 
which this type of coloration prevails. 
That the change in the roe, the red-deer, and the white- 
tailed deer from red in summer to grey in winter is 
analogous to the change from a spotted to a uniform coat 
in the Peking deer and the fallow-deer, is demonstrated 
not only by the nature of the colour itself, but more 
emphatically by the circumstance that in tropical and 
subtropical countries red-coated deer, such as the Indian 
muntjac and swamp-deer, or barasingha, retain their colour 
throughout the year. A similar condition is noticeable 
in the case of the small tropical representatives of the 
Virginian white-tailed deer, most or all of which do not 
change their colour with the season. In the last-men- 
tioned instance it appears, indeed, that the coat is brownish 
or greyish, instead of red; but this may be connected with 
the tendency to melanism, so often noticeable in the case 
of animals inhabiting moist tropical forests. Be this as 
it may, it is quite clear that the change from a red 
summer coat to a grey winter dress in species like the 
white-tail and the roe is for the purpose of protection, 
