ich abounds both in Azerbijan, and in the country about
Hamadan, and the jackal, which is found everywhere. Bears flourish in
Zagros, antelopes in Azerbijan, in the Elburz, and on the plains near
Sultaniyeh. The wild ass is found only in the desert parts of the high
plateau; the beaver only in Lake Zeribar, near Sulefmaniyeh.

The Iranian wild ass differs in some respects from the Mesopotamian. His
skin is smooth, like that of a deer, and of a reddish color, the belly
and hinder parts partaking of a silvery gray; his head and ears are
large and somewhat clumsy; but his neck is fine, and his legs are
beautifully slender. His mane is short and black, and he has a black
tuft at the end of his tail, but no dark line runs along his back or
crosses his shoulders. The Persians call him the _gur-khur_, and chase
him with occasional success, regarding his flesh as a great delicacy.
He appears to be the _Asinus onager_ of naturalists, a distinct species
from the _Asinus hemippus_ of Mesopotamia, and the _Asinus hemionus_ of
Thibet and Tartary.

It is doubtful whether some kind of wild cattle does not still inhabit
the more remote tracts of Kurdistan. The natives mention among the
animals of their country "the mountain ox;" and though it has been
suggested that the beast intended is the elk, it is perhaps as likely
to be the Aurochs, which seems certainly to have been a native of the
adjacent country of Mesopotamia in ancient times. At any rate, until
Zagros has been thoroughly explored by Europeans, it must remain
uncertain what animal is meant. Meanwhile we may be tolerably sure that,
besides the species enumerated, Mount Zagros contains within its folds
some large and rare ruminant.

Among the birds the most remarkable are the eagle, the bustard, the
pelican, the stork, the pheasant, several kinds of partridges, the
quail, the woodpecker, the bee-eater, the hoopoe, and the nightingale.
Besides these, doves and pigeons, both wild and tame, are common; as are
swallows, goldfinches, sparrows, larks, blackbirds, thrushes, linnets,
magpies, crows, hawks, falcons, teal, snipe, wild ducks, and many other
kinds of waterfowl. The most common partridge is a red-legged species
(_Caccabis chukar_ of naturalists), which is unable to fly far, and is
hunted until it drops. Another kind, common both in Azerbijan and in
the Elburz, is the black-breasted partridge (_Perdix nigra_)--a bird not
known in many countries. Besides these, there is a