### Identification A master of the "dash and dive," the Common Duiker is a small, elegant antelope characterized by a distinctively arched back—the hindquarters are higher than the shoulders. Their coat is a grizzled "pepper-and-salt" greyish-brown, providing perfect camouflage in dappled light. Look for the diagnostic vertical black blaze running from the nose up to the forehead. Between the ears, a tuft of long, dark hair stands like a small mohawk; in males, this often hides short, spiked horns. Unlike the Steenbok, which has large, "satellite-dish" ears and a reddish coat, the Duiker appears more rounded and muted in color.
### Habitat & Range The Common Duiker is perhaps Africa’s most successful generalist. They are found across almost all of Sub-Saharan Africa, excluding only the deepest rainforests and hyper-arid deserts. You’ll find them in montane grasslands up to 4,500 meters, coastal scrub, and even suburban gardens. They require "edge" habitats—areas with enough thicket to dive into when threatened.
### Behaviour Mainly crepuscular (active at dawn and dusk), these are solitary "ghosts" of the bush. If you startle one, it won't bound away like an Impala; instead, it performs a series of low, zig-zagging leaps into the nearest cover—the "diving" action that gives them their name (*duiker* is Afrikaans for "diver"). They are highly territorial, using the preorbital glands below their eyes to rub scent onto twigs.
### Diet While primarily browsers of leaves, shoots, and fallen fruits, Duikers are opportunistic. They are known to follow monkeys and birds, scavenging the fruit dropped from the canopy. They are remarkably independent of water, drawing moisture from succulents and tubers they dig up with their hooves.
### Fascinating Fact Though classified as an ungulate (hoofed herbivore), the Common Duiker is a "closet carnivore." They have been observed stalking and eating insects, lizards, and even small birds, making them one of the few truly omnivorous antelopes in the world!