9 6 



THE BLACK YARKE. 



This curious habit, however, is but rarely witnessed, as the animal dislikes to ex- 

 hibit its fastidiousness before spectators, and only when it thinks itself unwatched will 

 it use its natural goblet. When in the presence of witnesses it drinks as do other 

 monkeys, wetting its beard without compunction. 



The gene'ral color of this monkey is a grizzled brown, sometimes speckled with rust- 

 colored hairs, and the limbs, tail, and head are black. If, however, the hair of the 

 body be blown aside, a grayish hair takes the place of the dark brown ; for the hairs 

 are much lighter towards their insertion, and in many cases are nearly white. The 

 hair of the head is remarkable for the mode of its arrangement, which gives it an air 

 as if it had been parted artificially. The long black hairs start from a line down the 

 centre of the head, and fall over the temples so densely that they quite conceal the 

 ears under their thick locks. The large quantity of hair that decorates the head and 

 face increases the really great comparative size of the rounded head. The nostrils 

 are rather large, and are separated from each other by a dividing cartilage which is 

 larger than is usual even in the American monkeys. 



*<\ .'!' * '' ' 



BLACK YARKE.-Pttftec/a Leucocephala. 



The teeth are so sharp and the jaws so strong, that Humboldt has seen the animal, 

 when enraged, drive its weapons deeply into a thick plank. When it suffers from a fit 

 of passion, it grinds these sharp teeth, leaps about in fury, and rubs the extremity of 

 its long beard. Even when slightly irritated, it grins with savage rage, threatening the 

 offender with menacing grimaces, and wrinkling the skin of its jaws and face. 



It is not known to live in companies, as is the wont of most American monkeys, but 

 passes a comparatively solitary life, limiting its acquaintance to its partner and its 

 family. The cry of this animal is rather powerful, and can be heard at a considerable 

 distance. The color of the female Cuxio is not so dark as that of her mate, being 

 almost wholly of a rusty brown. It is chiefly nocturnal in its habits. 



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

 the Cuxio, which has just been described, and two other species, which are easily dis- 

 tinguished 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 CACAJAO, or BLACK- 

 HEADED SAKI. 



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



