566 AFRICAN GAME ANIMALS 



on the plains at the foot of the mountain. In 1908 Lonn- 

 berg separated as a race specimens from Lake Natron, 

 owing to the presence of the dark snout spot, a feature which 

 Matschie had neglected to mention in his description of 

 neumanni. An examination of the type specimen in Ber- 

 lin, however, shows the existence of the dark snout patch, 

 which is a characteristic marking of the steinbok through- 

 out its whole range, from the Cape to the equator. 



The little steinbok is common over most of East Africa. 

 It is a brush or grass antelope, depending for safety upon 

 cover, but it is not found in the thick forests, and it is found 

 even on the treeless plains where the grass is long and there 

 are patches of bush. It is a solitary little creature, usually 

 found alone, although occasionally one runs across a buck 

 and doe or a doe and a well-grown fawn. It both grazes and 

 browses, and, although it is not found in desert country, it 

 seems fairly independent of drinking. The contents of the 

 stomach of one shot at Nyeri included twigs, leaves, and 

 berries of the thorny nightshade, Sclanum campactylanum. 

 This was the only stomach examined. Steinboks are not 

 shy. We saw them feeding at all hours, like the oribi and 

 the small gazelle, often on bare plains. When alarmed they 

 dash for cover, and when in cover they lie very close. We 

 have mentioned oribi and Tommies in connection with stein- 

 bok, because the three little antelopes, although often found 

 in precisely similar ground, have such contrasting habits. 

 The Tommy never seeks to escape observation, always 

 avoids cover, always stands up when it spies danger, and 

 trusts to its speed and sharp senses for safety. When alarmed 

 it may run a mile or two, and then halts on the bare plain. 

 The oribi, if on open plains of short grass, behaves precisely 

 like a gazelle, but if in long grass or bush cover hides like a 



