538 THE SIMLE OF THE NEW WORLD 



In Guiana, Schomburgk met with the Nyctipithecus trivir- 

 gatus as a domestic animal. " A very neat little monkey, shy of 

 light as the owl or the bat. A small round head, extremely large 

 yellow eyes, shining in the dark stronger than those of the cat, 

 and tiny short ears, give it a peculiarly comical appearance. 

 When disturbed in its diurnal sleep and dragged forth to the 

 light, its helpless movements excite compassion ; it gi'opes about 

 as if blind, and lays hold of the first object that comes within 

 its reach, often pressing its face against it to escape the intole- 

 rable glare. The darkest corner of the hut is its seat of pre- 

 dilection, where it lies during day in a perfect asphyxia, from 

 which it can only be roused by blows. But soon after sun- 

 set it leaves its retreat, and then it is impossible to see a more 

 lively, active, and merry creature. From hammock it springs 

 to hammock, generally licking the faces of the sleepers, and 

 from the floor to the rafters of the roof, overturning 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 seems to range 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 Grranada, in the large forests of Quindiu, 

 the N. 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 " duruciili." 



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 fidl -grown ouistiti is 

 hardly larger than a squirrel, whom it resembles both in its 



