iy ALLEN’S NATURALIST’S LIBRARY. 
Distribution.—Arabia, from the plains up to 9,000 feet ; 
Abyssinia, and the Soudan. 
Habits The Arabian Baboon, or ‘‘ Tartarin,” as it is often 
called, is gregarious like its allies, occurring in troops of from 
two hundred and fifty to three hundred individuals. When full- 
grown, they are very bold and ferocious. They feed on fruits, 
berries, and the tubers of an edible grass; but their chief food 
consists of insects, and such small animals as they find under 
stones, or among the rocky cliffs and ravines, where they 
usually dwell, for they seem to avoid the wooded country. 
They have a loud voice, uttered as a grunting bark. They are 
said to be extremely intelligent, ‘‘astonishingly clever fellows,” as 

one traveller records :—having chiefs whom they obey implicitly, 
and possessing a regular system of tactics in war, with the post- 
ing of sentinels on pillaging expeditions. They have variously 
modulated cries, to warn, to indicate safety or false alarm, or 
to direct the general movements or conduct of the troop. 
“The old males,” as Mr. Blanford narrates, “are always 
most conspicuous animals, all the fore part of their body being 
covered with long hair. They usually take the lead when the 
troop is moving; some of them also bringing up the rear ; 
others placing themselves on high rocks or bushes and keeping 
a sharp look-out after enemies. A troop collected on a rocky 
crag presents a most singular appearance. I several times saw 
large numbers assembled around springs in the evening in the 
thirsty Shoho country. . . . On such occasions every 
jutting rock, every little stone more prominent than the rest, 
was occupied by a patriarch of the herd, with the gravity and 
watchfulness befitting his grizzled hair, waiting patiently until 
the last of his human rivals had slaked his thirst and that of 
his cattle. Around, the females were mainly occupied in taking 
