The nose is mobile with the upper end slightly forked, an interesting adaptation to living in hot, dry climates. It is enlarged, and the inside passage functions as a blood-cooling mechanism when the bellowslike muscles increase the airflow into the nose. The blood is pumped to the nose where airflow and subsequent evaporation cools the blood before it is recirculated to the body. This is just one of several mechanisms the dikdik uses to reduce water loss. Kirk's dikdik comes in various shades, ranging from grizzled gray to rusty brown, with lighter underparts of the body.
Coloration depends on habitat the drier semidesert areas usually have the paler individuals.
Dikdiks have large dark eyes, each surrounded by a white ring. A black spot below the inside corner of each eye contains a preorbital gland that produces a dark sticky secretion. Dikdiks insert grass stems and twigs into the gland to mark them with secretions. Habitat Dikdiks live in various habitats with good cover and plentiful browse, but without tall herbage. They are known to move to different ranges when grasses grow too high and obstruct their view.