CHAPTER X 



The Haud again — Difficulty of shooting dihatag — Mysterious circles — Butter- 

 flies : the " Painted Lady " — Birds at Libah Ale : nightjar : grey 

 shrike : hoopoe — How the hoopoe gained his crest — A wily jackal — A 

 good dihatag — Chitas : no luck — North agam — A leopard's escape — 

 The batelenr eagle — Gerenuk : two bad shots and a good one — Back at 

 Kotunwein — An exasperating incident : somajesti the aard-wolf — Somali 

 animal nomenclature — Bustard and secretary bird — Characteristics of 

 the aard-wolf — Kharindi killed by Uon — ^Tuyo Plain: an exceptional 

 aovl head — /. stormy sunset. 



From Billeil Tobani we moved on to Libah Ale just 

 across the border. I had hoped for another lion in 

 the Haud, but luck was out, the pasture had dried up, 

 and the karias all gone North, and we were just too 

 late. However, it was worth while coming here to get 

 one or two dihatag. 



I have not found the dihatag as difficult an animal 

 to shoot as it is stated to be. Shy it certainly is, but 

 inquisitive, and will often stand to gaze at closer range 

 than the gerenuk. It is fond of country where patches 

 of the high durr grass are frequent, and these are a 

 decided aid to stalking. Though often difficult to see, 

 its grey colouring sometimes shows up a shining white 

 in the sunlight. 



I have not seen it remarked that there are two 

 varieties of dihatag distinguishable by the length of 

 their tails, but Abdilleh assured me that this is so ; 

 and certainly out of six specimens obtained by me on 

 these two trips, two had tails of seven to eight inches 



