35 6 



TROPICAL AMERICA AND ITS ANIMALS 



a nocturnal life and are distinguished by the round whiskered face, short ears, 



and exceptionally large, owl-like eyes, the most common is the three-banded 



douroucoli (NyctipitJtecus trivirgatus), whose range extends from Venezuela and 



Guiana to Brazil and Peru. 



The little squirrel-monkeys 

 are specially characterised by 

 the great relative length of 

 the hinder part of the head. 

 Among them, the common 

 squirrel - monkey (Chrysothrix 

 sciurea), which inhabits Brazil 

 and the Orinoco valley, is one 

 of the best known. Not much 

 larger than a squirrel, it owes 

 its name of death's-head monkey 

 to the black-snouted large-eyed 

 face which bears some resem- 

 blance to a skull. 



The titi monkeys of the 

 genus Callithrix, which greatly 

 resemble in some respects both 

 the squirrel-monkeys and the 

 douroucolis, have smaller heads 

 and eyes and long bushy tails. 

 - They range all over South 

 America but are principally 

 found in the Amazon basin. 



The sakis, again, may be 

 recognised by their long thick 

 bushy tails, which are not pre- 

 hensile, and are further dis- 

 tinguished by the possession 

 of whiskers and long beards. 

 Among them, the red-backed 

 saki(Pithecia chiropotes), which 

 inhabits the valley of the 

 Amazon, the upper Orinoco, 

 and Guiana, is remarkable for 

 its way of drinking, as it does 



not stoop down to the water, like other monkeys, but only bends its head and 



lifts the water to its mouth in the hollow of its hand. 



The hairy saki, or Humboldt's saki (P. monachus), restricted chiefly to the 



north bank of the upper Amazon and ranging as far west as Peru, is well known 



in captivity as an affectionate and intelligent companion. 



Nearly related to the foregoing, the uacaris are broadly distinguished from 



all other American monkeys by the shortness of their tails which never exceed 



THREE-BANDED DOUROUO ILL 



