ALLEN: MAMMALS FROM THE BLUE NILE VALLEY. 319 



in the presence of civilization, and will doubtless continue in the hind 

 long after the other species of antelopes have been exterminated. The 

 country between Sennar and Singa is so travelled and cultivated that 

 we saw none on that part of the road, but bej^ond the latter town we 

 saw them almost daily. In the early morning they are about before 

 sunrise feeding, but usually are less in e\idence after six or seven 

 o'clock, especially in the neighborhood of villages, for they retreat 

 to cover and come out again towards evening. Yet we often saw them 

 even at midday, standing in the tall grass, gazing attentively at us as 

 we passed. Often they would stand thus watching till we were out of 

 sight, but if alarmed by a suspicious movement or a too close approach 

 they scurried off at once into the thick cover. Along the Blue Nile 

 we saw them frequently in pairs, and singles, and a good number were 

 accompanied by little fawns in January. Their curiosity is consider- 

 able and almost always causes them to stop, after the first dash, and 

 stand broadside on watching intently the object of their suspicion, 

 and thus affording the hunter an easy shot. Away from the river 

 there were but few Oribi, and in crossing to the Binder we saw but a 

 single one not far from a small and partly dried waterhole. Along 

 the Binder, Oribi were abundant and we often saw small troops of 

 four or five. Here they were little disturbed and surprisingly tame, 

 allowing us often to approach within a very short distance. They 

 frequented the edges of the open 'meres' with the other antelope, 

 throughout the day. Their cry of alarm is a sharp whistled " phee-u," 

 not so hoarse, it seemed to me, as the somewhat similar whistle of the 

 Reedbuck. 



It is often difficult to distinguish Oribi from small or hornless Reed- 

 bucks, especially as the two occur together along the edges of the grass 

 jungles, but there are several very characteristic traits that serve 

 to identify the two. In running away the Reedbuck holds its tail 

 tightly down between its legs, whereas the Oribi holds its tail stiffly 

 erect, exposing the blackish skin about the anus. Its gait is also 

 stiffer, with a sort of bobbing up and down of the hind quarters as it 

 scurries along, whereas the Reedbuck has a much freer gait, and often 

 takes beautiful deer-like bounds, fore feet out in front, hind feet 

 straight out behind, as it clears some obstructing bush. 



In reporting on the mammals obtained by Lord Lovat's expedition 

 from southern Abyssinia to the Blue Nile, de Winton (1900, p. 8-1) 

 states that specimens of the Beira Antelope (Borcotragus) were 

 brought back. According to Lord Lovat " the Beira Antelope is com- 

 mon all down the Blue Nile to Roseires; it inhabits the slopes leading 



