78 APES, MONKEYS, AND LEMURS 



habits, as it seldom approaches the few roads which wind through these deep- 

 solitudes. At early morning, ere the day begins to dawn, its loud and peculiar 

 howl, which consists of a quick repetition of the sounds how, how! may be fre- 

 quently heard in the mountain jungles, and forms one of the characteristic noises of 

 these lofty situations. ' ' There is a record of one of these monkeys having attacked 

 a native laden with a bag of rice. 



THE CAPPED IANGUR (Scmnopithecus pileatus) 



Of somewhat smaller dimensions than the hanuman is the capped langur of 

 Assam and the neighboring districts of Northeastern India and Upper Burma. 

 This species may be readily distinguished from the Nilgiri langur and the purple- 

 faced monkey (with its varieties) by the hair of the crown of the head being longer 

 than that on the occiput and temples, thus having somewhat the appearance of a 

 cap, from which character the species derives its name. 



In color this monkey varies from a dusky-gray to a brownish ashy-gray on 

 the upper parts ; the upper part of the back, and sometimes also the crown of the 

 head, being darker. The hands and feet are dark or black above, but occasionally 

 some or all of the fingers may be yellowish. The tail is dark brown, but may be 

 black at the tip. The face is always black, but the sides and lower parts of the 

 head, as well as the neck, vary from a golden brown or orange to a pale yellow or 

 yellowish-white tint. The light color of the sides of the face extends backwards to 

 a line just above the ears, so that, with the light-colored nape of the neck, the dark 

 cap is well defined, and gives to this monkey a peculiar and distinctive appearance. 



According to Mr. Blanford, nothing is known of its habits in a wild state, 

 although they are probably very similar to those of most of the other species of 

 the genus. In captivity it is said to be gentle if captured when quite young, but 

 if not taken till adult it is morose and savage, this being especially the case with old 

 males. 



The so-called red-bellied langur (S. chrysog aster) is only known by an adult 

 female and a young one preserved in the Museum at Berlin, and reputed to have 

 been obtained from Tenasserim. In the adult the upper parts, the limbs, and the 

 tail are jet black, with the lower portions of the individual hairs ruddy, and their 

 extreme bases white ; the band on the forehead, as well as the cheeks to behind the 

 ears, and the sides and front of the neck, together with the chin and the upper part 

 of the breast are pure white. The remainder of the under parts are of a deep 

 bright ferruginous red, which also tinges the inner sides of the limbs, and gives the 

 animal its distinctive appellation. The young are of a Uniform reddish- white color. 

 The head of the adult appears to have a small crest, and by this it is distinguished 

 from the typical capped langur. 



From this description it would appear that this monkey is the most brilliantly 

 colored of all the langurs ; and Mr. Blanford considers from this circumstance that 

 if it really comes from Tenasserim other examples ought ere this to have been 

 obtained. Dr. Anderson regards this monkey merely as a brilliantly colored variety 

 of the capped langur, but this view is not accepted by Mr. Blanford. 



