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 
