i66 APES AXD MONKEYS. 



Writing of them at Ega, he says : " I found two species, closely related to each 

 other, but nevertheless quite distinct, as lioth inhabit the same forests, namely, 

 those of the liigher and drier lands, without mingling with each other or inter- 

 crossing. They sleep all day long in hollow trees, and come forth to prey on 

 insects, and eat fruits only in the night. They are of small size, the body being 

 about a foot long and the tail 14 inches, and are thickly clothed with soft grey 

 and brown fur, similar to that of a rabbit. Their physiognomy reminds one of 

 the owl or tiger-cat. The face is round and encircled by a ruiT of whitish hair: 

 the muzzle is not at all prominent ; the mouth and cliin are small ; the ears are 

 very short, scarcely appearing above the hair of the head ; and the eyes are large 

 and yellowish in colour, imparting the staring expression of nocturnal animals of 

 prej'. The forehead is whitish, and decorated -with three wliite stripes." 



The Three-Banded Douroucoli {Nyctipithems tfivirgatus). 



This species was first discovered by Humboldt on the banks of the River 

 Cassiquiare, near the headwatere of the Rio Negro, in Venezuela ; but it is likewise 

 found in Guiana and Brazil. Its chief distinctive character is to be found in the 

 circumstance that the three banils on the forehead continue distinct from one 

 another on to the crown of the head. The fur is relatively short, and tlie tail 

 cjdindrical. The general colour is a greyish-brown, with a darker stripe down the 

 middle of tlie back ; the chest and under-parts being feiTuginous, and the tail 

 blackish-brown, except on the under part of its root, where it becomes j'^ellowish. 



The account given of this animal by Humboldt accoi'ds very closeh' with 

 the descrij^tions of later naturalists. Humboldt refers to the difficultj- of taming 

 it, and states that one kept in his possession for nearlj' five months could 

 not be reconciled to captivity. It slept during the daj', concealing itself in the 

 darkest corner it could find, and when awake could but seldom be induced to plaj' 

 with its master. Its agility in capturing flies was very remarkable. If irritated 

 it hissed, and struck out with its paws after tlie manner of a cat, at the same time 

 inflating its throat. Its voice, for so small an animal, was very powerful, and 

 Humboldt compares its crj' on some occasions to the roar of the jaguar, while at 

 othere it is described as a kind of me^ving, accompanied by a deep guttural sound. 



Mr. Bates describes how he kept an individual of this species for many 

 months when on the Amazon. He observes that " these monkej's, although 

 sleeping by day, are aroused bj- the least noise ; so that when a person passes by a 

 tree in wliich a number of them are concealed, he is startled by the apparition of a 

 number of little stx'iped faces crowding a liole in the trunk. It was in tliis way 

 that my companion discovered the colony from which the one given to me was 

 taken. I was obliged to keep my pet chained up ; it never became thoroughly 

 familiar." After referring to an individual of the next species, Mr. Bates states 

 that his douroucoli " was kept in a box, in which was placed a broad-mouthed glass 

 jar : into this it would dive head-foremost wlien anj'one entered the room, turning 

 round inside, and thrusting fortli its inqui-sitive face an instant afterwards to stare 

 at the intruder. It was very active at night, venting at frequent intervals a hoarse 

 cry, like the suppressed barking of a dog, and scampering about the room, to the 



