272 TROPICAL NATURE 



in books of travel of the silence and gloom of the Brazilian 

 forests. They are realities, and the impression deepens on a 

 longer acquaintance. The few sounds of birds are of that 

 pensive and mysterious character which intensifies the feeling 

 of solitude rather than imparts a sense of life and cheerfulness. 

 Sometimes in the midst of the stillness a sudden yell or scream 

 will startle one ; this comes from some defenceless fruit-eating 

 animal which is pounced upon by a tiger-cat or a boa-con- 

 strictor. Morning and evening the howling monkeys make a 

 most fearful and harrowing noise, under which it is difficult 

 to keep up one's buoyancy of spirit. The feeling of inhos- 

 pitable wildness which the forest is calculated to inspire is 

 increased tenfold under this fearful uproar. Often, even in 

 the still mid-day hours, a sudden crash will be heard resound- 

 ing afar through the wilderness, as some great bough or entire 

 tree falls to the ground." With a few verbal alterations these 

 remarks will apply equally to the primeval forests of the 

 Malay Archipelago; and it is probable that those of West 

 Africa offer no important differences in this respect. There 

 is, nevertheless, one form of life which is very rarely absent 

 in the more luxuriant parts of the tropics, and which is more 

 often so abundant as to form a decided feature in the scene. 

 It is therefore the group which best characterises the equa- 

 torial zone, and should form the starting-point for our review. 

 This group is that of the 



Diurnal Lepidoptera or Butterflies 



Wherever in the equatorial zone a considerable extent of 

 the primeval forest remains, the observer can hardly fail to be 

 struck by the abundance and the conspicuous beauty of the 

 butterflies. Not only are they abundant in individuals, but 

 their large size, their elegant forms, their rich and varied 

 colours, and the number of distinct species almost everywhere 

 to be met with, are equally remarkable. In many localities 

 near the northern or southern tropics they are perhaps equally 

 abundant, but these spots are more or less exceptional, whereas 

 within the equatorial zone, and with the limitations above 

 stated, butterflies form one of the most constant and most 

 conspicuous displays of animal life. They abound most in 

 old and tolerably open roads and pathways through the forest, 



