THE OUISTITI. 515 



sleepers, and from the floor to the rafters of the roof, over- 

 turning all that is not sufficiently fastened to resist its 

 curiosity.' 



Its hair, which is grey on the back and orange-coloured on 

 the belly, is much thicker than that of the other monkeys, and 

 somewhat woolly, thus being admirably suited to the colder 

 temperature of its nocturnal rambles. It ranges over a great 

 part of South America, but on account of its retirement during 

 the day is very rarely caught. Its voice is remarkably strong, 

 and, according to Humboldt, is said to resemble the jaguar's 

 roar, for which reason it is called the Tiger Monkey in the 

 missions along the Orinoco. It lives chiefly on nocturnal 

 insects, thinning their ranks like the bat, but is also said to 

 prey upon small birds like the owl. In the Andes of New 

 Granada, in the large forests of Quindiu, the iV. lemurinus 

 lives at an elevation of from four to five thousand feet above 

 the level of the sea, and makes the woods resound during the 

 night with his clamorous cry of ' diiriiculi.' 



The Ouistitis, or Squirrel Monkeys, are distinguished from 

 all the other American quadrumana by the claws with which 

 all their fingers, except the thumbs of their hands, are provided, 

 and which render them excellent service in climbing. They 

 have a very soft fur, and are extremely light and graceful in 

 their movements, as well as elegant in their forms. The 

 young are often not bigger than a mouse, and even a full- 

 grown ouistiti is hardly larger than a squirrel, whom it 

 resembles both in its mode of life, and by its restless activity, 

 as its little head is never quiet. They use their tail, which in 

 many species is handsomely marked by traisverse bars, as a 

 protection against the cold, to which they are acutely sensitive. 

 Their numerous species are dispersed over all the forests of 

 tropical America, where they live as well upon fruits and nuts 

 as upon insects and eggs ; and when they can catch a little 

 bird, they suck its brain with all the satisfaction of an epicure. 

 They are easily tamed, but very suspicious and irritable. 



The learned French naturalist, Audouin, made some inte- 

 resting observations on a pair of tame ouistitis, which prove 

 tlieir intelligence to be far superior to that of the squirrels, to 

 whom they are often compared. One of them, while regaling 

 on a bunch of grapes, squirted some of the juice into its eye, 



LL 2 



