The Scottish Dunface, Old Scottish Short-wool, Scottish WhitefaceTrow-Smith, Robert (1959), ''A History of British Livestock Husbandry 1700–1900'', Routledge and Kegan Paul, pp 122, 148.
/ref> or Scottish Tanface was a type of

sheep Sheep or domestic sheep (''Ovis aries'') are domesticated, ruminant mammals typically kept as livestock. Although the term ''sheep'' can apply to other species in the genus '' Ovis'', in everyday usage it almost always refers to domesticated ...

from

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...

. It was one of the Northern European short-tailed sheep group, and it was probably similar to the sheep kept throughout the British Isles in the Iron Age. By the mid-nineteenth century it had mostly been displaced by the

Scottish Blackface The Blackface or Scottish Blackface is a British breed of sheep. It is the most common sheep breed of the United Kingdom. Despite the name, it did not originate in Scotland, but south of the border. History The origins of the breed are ...

and it became extinct on the mainland of Scotland in the late nineteenth century. However, several local types of Dunface survived on islands around Scotland, giving rise to or contributing to existing breeds including the Shetland, North Ronaldsay, Hebridean and Boreray.

Characteristics

The Scottish Dunface was a short-tailed sheep with short, fine wool. Its face was often brownish, and its fleece could be various colours: white, black, brown or dun. In most varieties the ewes were polled and the males horned,Hall, Stephen J. G. and Clutton-Brock, Juliet (1989), ''Two Hundred Years of British Farm Livestock'', British Museum (Natural History), , pp. 102, 111 but in Hebridean populations all animals were horned, often having two or even more pairs.Macaulay, Kenneth (1764), ''The History of St Kilda'', Becket, T. and De Hondt, P. A., London, p. 129
/ref>

History

The sheep kept throughout the British Isles up to the

Iron Age The Iron Age is the final epoch of the three-age division of the prehistory and protohistory of humanity. It was preceded by the Stone Age ( Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic) and the Bronze Age ( Chalcolithic). The concept has been mostl ...

were small, variable in colour and short-tailed. From Roman times onwards these were progressively displaced in Britain, first by white-faced sheep with longer tails, and later by long-tailed, black-faced, horned sheep. The short-tailed Iron Age sheep survived in the Scottish

Highlands and Islands The Highlands and Islands is an area of Scotland broadly covering the Scottish Highlands, plus Orkney, Shetland and Outer Hebrides (Western Isles). The Highlands and Islands are sometimes defined as the area to which the Crofters' Act of 18 ...

as the Dunface, and by the latter part of the 18th century this was still the only type of sheep found in that area. Culley, George
(1807), ''Observations on Live Stock'', pub Wilkie, Robinson et al, pp. 146, 160–161.
/ref> However, over the following century the Dunface continued to be displaced by long-tailed sheep: the

and the Cheviot. The last flock of Dunface sheep on the mainland of Scotland is believed to have died out near Inverness about 1880. After this the descendants of the Dunface survived only on remote islands ( St Kilda, Shetland and Orkney) and as

ornamental animal An ornamental animal is an animal kept for display or curiosity, often in a park. A wide range of mammals, birds and fish have been kept as ornamental animals. Ornamental animals have often formed the basis of introduced populations, sometimes ...

s in parks. Dunface sheep gave rise to or contributed to several modern breeds: * The Dunface sheep kept as domestic livestock in the St Kilda archipelago were mixed to some extent with

sheep in the late 19th century, and survive as the Boreray (the other sheep of St Kilda is the

feral A feral () animal or plant is one that lives in the wild but is descended from domesticated individuals. As with an introduced species, the introduction of feral animals or plants to non-native regions may disrupt ecosystems and has, in some ...

Soay, which is a survivor of an even earlier short-tailed type of sheep and is not derived from the Dunface). * Multi-horned Dunface sheep elsewhere in the

Hebrides The Hebrides (; gd, Innse Gall, ; non, Suðreyjar, "southern isles") are an archipelago off the west coast of the Scottish mainland. The islands fall into two main groups, based on their proximity to the mainland: the Inner and Outer Hebr ...

survived longest on the island of

North Uist North Uist ( gd, Uibhist a Tuath; sco, North Uise) is an island and community in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland. Etymology In Donald Munro's ''A Description of the Western Isles of Scotland Called Hybrides'' of 1549, North Uist, Benbecula and ...

, and these were probably the basis of the breed which became known as the "St Kilda" sheep, now generally called the

Hebridean sheep The Hebridean is a breed of small black sheep from Scotland, similar to other members of the Northern European short-tailed sheep group, having a short, triangular tail. They often have two pairs of horns. They were often formerly known as "St ...

. By the early 20th century this was extinct in the Hebrides, but it survived in parks in England and mainland Scotland.Kinsman D (2001), ''Black Sheep of Windermere: A History of the St Kilda or Hebridean Sheep''. Windy Hall Publications. pp. 101–144. *The North Ronaldsay, a remnant of the Dunface sheep of Orkney. *The Shetland sheep. *The Castlemilk Moorit, another ornamental type derived partly from Shetland sheep. The Dunface was similar in origin and appearance to several other short-tailed sheep of the

British Isles The British Isles are a group of islands in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-western coast of continental Europe, consisting of the islands of Great Britain, Ireland, the Isle of Man, the Inner and Outer Hebrides, the Northern Isles, ...

. These include the

Manx Loaghtan The Manx Loaghtan ( ) is a rare breed of sheep (''Ovis aries'') native to the Isle of Man. It is sometimes spelled as ''Loaghtyn'' or ''Loghtan''. The sheep have dark brown wool and usually four or occasionally six horns. The Manx Loaghtan is ...

of the

Isle of Man ) , anthem = "O Land of Our Birth" , image = Isle of Man by Sentinel-2.jpg , image_map = Europe-Isle_of_Man.svg , mapsize = , map_alt = Location of the Isle of Man in Europe , map_caption = Location of the Isle of Man (green) in Europe ...

, and the extinct Kerry Mountain and Cladagh of western

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

.Ryder, M. L. (1981), "A survey of European primitive breeds of sheep", ''Ann. Génét. Sél. Anim.'', 13 (4), pp. 381–418.
/ref>

Husbandry

Dunface sheep were kept in small flocks, tended during the day by a boy or girl, then housed at night. Fine fleeces were valued.Ryder, M. L. (1983), ''Sheep and Man''. Duckworth, London (quoted i

)

References

{{Scottish animal breeds Sheep breeds Sheep breeds originating in Scotland Extinct sheep breeds