68 THE MONKEY TRIBE 



yellow ; its face is black and naked, and that of the adult 

 male is surrounded by a profuse beard. 



The generic Greek word Mycetes means 'to moan/ and 

 is applied to the animal on account of the peculiar con- 

 struction of the throat, which enables it to emit the most 

 extraordinary sounds. The hyoid bone forms a hollow 

 drum communicating with the larynx, and gives such pro- 

 digious power and resonance to the voice that the animal 

 can make hideous noises that can be heard miles away. 

 The Howlers live in troops, and swing their way through 

 the woods with great agility. It is chiefly at night that 

 they practise their vocal exercises. Waterton, the cele- 

 brated naturalist, thus describes the effect : ' Nothing can 

 sound more dreadful than its nocturnal howlings. While 

 lying in your hammock in those gloomy and unmeasurable 

 wilds you hear howling at intervals from eleven o'clock at 

 night until daybreak. You would suppose that half the 

 wild beasts of the forest were collecting for the work of 

 carnage. Now it is the tremendous roar of the jaguar as 

 he springs upon his prey ; now it changes to his deep-toned 

 growlings as he is pressed on all sides by superior force ; 

 and now you hear his last dying moan beneath a mortal 

 wound.' 



CAPUCHIN MONKEY (Cebus capucinus). 

 Coloured Plate III. Fig. 3. 



The Capuchin Monkey is one of many similar species 

 found in nearly all the forests of tropical America, from 

 which it differs only in being destitute of the raised crest 

 which is a conspicuous feature of many monkeys in the 

 same genus. It is usually about a foot in length, with fur 

 variable in tint, but more often than not it is a golden olive, 

 with a white border round the face. Lively and playful, 

 the Capuchin is a favourite with the natives and with the 

 European settlers. In common with many of the smaller 

 monkeys, it frequently sets up a friendship with other 

 animals in and about the house. It will become the firm 

 friend of a cat, and will often seat itself upon the back of a 

 pig and bestride its unwilling steed even when it is feeding 



