THE BLACK YARKE AND THE DOUROUCOULI. 35 



every morning, and, mounting upon its back, to retain its seat during 

 the day. Even while the pig was feeding in the savannas its rider re- 

 mained firm, and bestrode its victim with as much pertinacity as did 

 Sinbad's old man of the sea. 



There is some difficulty in settling the species of the Capucins, for 

 their fur is rather variable in tint, in some cases differing so greatly as 

 to make them look like another species. The general tint of the Capu- 

 cin is a golden olive, a whiter fur bordering the face in some individuals, 

 though not in all. 



There are several monkeys known by the name of Sakis, among which 

 are reckoned the Cuxio, a rather odd little animal, and two other species, 

 which are easily distinguished from each other by the color of their 

 heads. The first of these animals is the Black Yarke, or White- 

 headed Saki, and the other the Cicajao, or Black-headed Sakl 



The former of these Sakis is a rather elegant creature in form, and 

 of colors more varied than those of the Cuxio. The head is surrounded 

 with a thick and closely-set fringe of white hair, which is rather short 

 in the male, but long and drooping in the female. The top of the head 

 is of a deep black, and the remainder of the body and the tail are covered 

 with very long and rather coarse hair of a blackish brown. Under the 

 chin and throat the hairs are almost entirely absent, and the skin is of 

 an orange hue. 



Besides the difference of length in the facial hairs of the female 

 Yarke, there are several distinctions between the sexes, which are so 

 decided as to have caused many naturalists to consider the male and 

 female to belong to different species. The hair of the female Yarke 

 is decorated near the tip with several rings of a rusty brow^n color, 

 while the hair of the male is entirely devoid of these marks. 



The natural food of these animals is said to consist chiefly of wild 

 bees and their honeycombs. Perhaps the long furry hair with which 

 the Sakis are covered may be useful for the purpose of defending them 

 from the stings of the angry insects. On account of the full and bushy 

 tail with which the members of this group are furnished, they are pop- 

 ularly classed together under the title of Fox-tailed Monkeys. 



The term " Nyctipithecus," or Night-monkey, which is used as the 

 generic title of the Douroucouli, refers to its habits, which are more 

 strictly nocturnal than those of the animals heretofore mentioned. The 

 eyes of this little creature are so sensitive to light that it cannot en- 

 dure the glare of day, and only awakes to activity and energy when 

 the shades of night throw their welcome veil over the face of nature. 



In its wild state it seeks the shelter of some hollow tree or other 

 darkened place of refuge, and there abides during the hours of day- 

 light, buried in a slumber so deep that it can with difficulty be 

 aroused, even though the rough hand of its captor drag it from its 



