Field guide to the most commonly encountered mammals and birds

Here, we provide some basic information regarding commonly observed species (plus some others about which we have had queries).  

Feel free to contact us by email if you have any questions regarding species you have encountered on the site.

For more information about mammals, we recommend the Mammal Society's species hub, here. For birds, excellent resources are available from the RSPB (here) and the BTO (here).

 

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Muntjac

Scientific name: Muntiacus reevesi

Family: Cervidae

Appearance: Adults males grow to 44 - 52cm at the shoulder and weigh 10 - 18kg. Adult females are 43 - 52cm at the shoulder and weigh 9 - 16kg. Small, stocky and russet brown in colour in summer and grey/brown in winter. Bucks have short (10 cm) antlers growing from long pedicles. Antlers are usually unbranched but a very short brow tine is occasionally found in old bucks. They also have visible upper canines (tusks) suggesting that they are a primitive species. Muntjac have two pairs of large glands on the face. The upper pair are the frontal glands, whilst the lower glands, below the eyes, are called sub-orbitals. Both glands are used to mark territories and boundaries. They have a ginger forehead with pronounced black lines running up the pedicles in bucks, and a dark diamond shape on does. The haunches are higher than the withers giving a hunched appearance. They have a fairly wide tail, which is held erect when disturbed.

Natural history: Non-native but expanding. Mostly forests with a diverse understorey. Breed all year round and the does can conceive again within days of giving birth. Bucks may fight for access to does but remain unusually tolerant of subordinate males within their vicinity. Does are capable of breeding at seven months old. After a gestation period of seven months they give birth to a single kid and are ready to mate again within a few days. Bucks can live up to 16 years and does up to 19 years, but these are exceptional. Muntjac are generally solitary or found in pairs (doe with kid or buck with doe) although pair-bonding does not occur. Bucks defend small exclusive territories against other bucks whereas does' territories overlap with each other and with several bucks. They are known as ‘barking deer’ from the repeated loud bark given under a number of circumstances. An alarmed muntjac may scream whereas maternal does and kids squeak. Muntjac are active throughout the 24-hour period but make more use of open spaces during the hours of darkness in populations subject to frequent disturbance. Peak activity is at dawn and dusk. Long periods are spent ‘lying up’, where the deer lies down to ruminate after feeding. (Source: https://www.bds.org.uk/index.php/advice-education/species/muntjac-deer)

 (C) nick ford (shared under a CC BY-NC-ND 2.0 license)

 (C) Airwolfhound (shared under a CC BY-SA 2.0 license)

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