166 NATURAL SCIENCE. March, 1895. 



forests to feed in the open country. The russet brown of the 

 kijang, flying squirrel, and the wild dog appears at first sight most 

 conspicuous, but somehow it is not as visible as one would think. 

 This brown-red colour, so common in wild dogs, such as the 

 dingo, is very often to be seen in pariah dogs, i.e., the offspring of 

 domestic dogs which have taken to a jungle life, and I have noticed 

 that these brown ones are much more difficult to see in the dusk than 

 those of any other colour. The invisibility of the tiger when moving 

 quietly through the long grass and fern, or when waiting in ambush for 

 its prey, has been mentioned by others. About our only other striped 

 animal, Hemigale havdwickii, little is known. It may be diurnal in 

 habit. The only person whom I have met with who has seen one 

 wild is Mr. H. L. Kelsal, who saw one under a log in thick jungle by 

 the Tahan river in Pahang. It may, perhaps, conceal itself usually 

 among the grasses by the river edge, where it would be very incon- 

 spicuous. Of really black animals we have the bear, black panther, 

 Hylobates, and some Scmnopithcci and Sciunis bicolor. The first of 

 these not being carnivorous, and, at the same time, being a match for 

 almost any enemy, has no necessity to conceal itself. The black 

 panther is quite nocturnal, and being a powerful beast has no need 

 for special colouring to conceal it during the day. Hylobates, Semno- 

 pithecus, and Sciunis bicolor, all strictly diurnal in habits, seem free 

 from any enemies, living high up in the trees, where carnivorous 

 animals never go. The monkeys do not attempt to conceal them- 

 selves, but, on the sight of an enemy, dash off with immense leaps, 

 often uttering warning cries. The squirrel, which is slower in habits, 

 usually hides itself among the thick creepers in the nearest tree which 

 it can find when alarmed. It is interesting to note that in both 

 Hylobates and the squirrel we have forms of the equally or more 

 conspicuous colour — white, a colour very rare among mammals, and 

 there are also white species of Semnopithccus. The smaller monkeys, 

 on the other hand, which often come down on the ground and are liable 

 to attacks from wild cats and other carnivora, are grey or brownish 

 and far less conspicuous, though the young of the Kra are born with 

 black hair, which is replaced by grey as soon as they can go alone. 



The colouring of mammals is, then, in this region adapted for 

 concealment. There is no instance of modification for signalling to 

 each other, either by warning colours or by attracting colours, like 

 the white tail of the rabbit. Indeed, such would be absolutely useless 

 in a jungle country, where animals at a few yards' distance from each 

 other could not see each other. Warning and attraction are both 

 effected by the voice, and the latter probably also to a large extent 

 by scent. Still, even in jungles, where, from the fresh tracks, one 

 can see that big animals are abundant, one may remain for days 

 without hearing more than the morning wail of the Wa Wa, the loud 

 cry of the Lotong, and occasionally the distant bark of a tiger. 



H. N. Ridley. 



