Where’s Wildlife · Mammal Field Guide
Odocoileus virginianus
Pronounced (approx.): oh-doh-KOY-lee-us ver-jin-ee-AY-nus
A browsing mammal whose raised white tail is a familiar signal as it bounds away.
White-tailed Deer. Select the image to browse all 8 photographs.
NATIVE TO NORTH AMERICA
White underside of the tail
Large ears and a slender muzzle
Reddish summer or gray-brown winter coat
Compare views, markings and body shapes in the photographs below.
White-tailed Deer have long legs, large ears and a slim muzzle. Their coats are usually reddish-brown in summer and grayer in winter. Young fawns have pale spots that help break up their outline among patches of light and shade.
The broad white underside of the tail is especially noticeable when the tail is raised. Adult males usually grow branching antlers, which are shed and regrown annually. Antlers are a seasonal feature, so their absence alone does not determine sex.
Deer browse on leaves, shoots and twigs and also eat grasses, fruits and nuts as available. Woodland edges offer a combination of food and shelter, but deer use many habitat types. Their feeding changes as plants develop through the seasons.
In the Midwest, breeding activity increases in autumn and fawns are generally born in spring or early summer. A young fawn may lie quietly in cover while its mother feeds elsewhere. Females and young often form groups outside the breeding season.
Antlers are shed and grown again rather than kept for life.
Fawn spots help disguise the outline in dappled cover.
Available vegetation shapes feeding through the year.
White-tailed Deer are widespread in the Americas, with regional differences in size, habitat and seasonal timing. Local sightings can be common even in suburban areas where food and cover are close together.
Explore reported sightings on iNaturalist. Observation records are not a complete range map.
Explore a related illustrated nature poster from the Where’s Wildlife store.
