HUNTING IN THE RIFT VALLEY 15 



filled the view. Further ou, where forest gave place to 

 open grassy prairie, all these were literally in thousands, 

 thoiigh the impala always frequent the fringe of the 

 covert. We saw no elands at this date, but the plains 

 were alive with herds of the smaller gazelle (Thomsoni) 

 darting about and chasing each other in sprightly 

 exuberance. Besides these were wart-hogs, ostriches and 



SPOTTKn HYEXA. 



great kori bustards, while crowned cranes in threes and 

 fours stalked sedately through the throng. Jackals 

 loped hither and thither, and, further away, a gaunt 

 hyena, looking big as a lioness, shambled across the 

 plain, its long neck held stiffly forward at an upward 

 angle and tail carried low between the legs. 



At one point we counted thirty-one ostriches close 

 together — thirteen in the nearer pack, two of which 

 were big old cocks, and eighteen more a little beyond. 

 Hard by them a herd of zebra were feeding, and in the 

 foreground a group of marabou storks held an inquest 

 over some bones. 



Strikingly handsome objects were the crowned 

 cranes just mentioned, big birds of boldly-marked 

 plumage — velvety-black, with rich chestnut wings and 



