. From North pole to equator: studies of wild life and scenes in many lands. Animal behavior; Birds; Tundras; Ethnology; Birds. 224 FKOM NORTH POLE TO EQUATOR. when, if startled, it flew past me like an arrow. " Look, sir, there, in front of you in the nearest bush is a little antelope; it is down there in the gap between the two thickly-leaved branches," whis- pered my native guide in my ear. I strained every nerve, penetrated every part of the bush with my gaze, and saw nothing but branches and leaves, for the graceful legs had become twigs, the head and body a leafy bough. But the
. From North pole to equator: studies of wild life and scenes in many lands. Animal behavior; Birds; Tundras; Ethnology; Birds. 224 FKOM NORTH POLE TO EQUATOR. when, if startled, it flew past me like an arrow. " Look, sir, there, in front of you in the nearest bush is a little antelope; it is down there in the gap between the two thickly-leaved branches," whis- pered my native guide in my ear. I strained every nerve, penetrated every part of the bush with my gaze, and saw nothing but branches and leaves, for the graceful legs had become twigs, the head and body a leafy bough. But the sportsman's eye be- comes accustomed in time even to the primeval forest. When one has become familiar with the dainty creature's habits, one learns to find it as well as the sharp-sighted natives do. Its acute hearing warns it of the approach of a man long before he can see any trace of its presence. Scared by the rustle of heavy human footsteps it starts up from its lair, takes a few steps for- wards, and steps into some gap from which to see what happens. Like a bronze statue it stands stiif and motion- less, without even moving an ear or turning an eye, but looking and listening; the leg which was raised to step onwards remains in that position, not a sign betrays life. Now is the time for the sportsman to raise his gun quickly, take aim and shoot; a moment later the cunning antelope has gained the cover of a, neighbouring bush at a single bound, or has bent slowly down and crept away so quietly that scarcely a leaf stirs, scarcely a blade of grass moves. The primeval forest thus presents a succession of varied pictures to the traveller's eye. If one has learnt to see, and attempts to. Fig. 33.—Salt's Antelope {AntUope Saltiana).. Please note that these images are extracted from scanned page images that may have been digitally enhanced for readability - coloration and appearance of these illustrations may not perfectly resemble the original Brehm, Alfred Edmund, 1
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1890, booksubjectbirds, booksubjecteth
