THE WHITE-HEADED MONGOOS. 153 
throughout, is longer than the body, and, in common 
with it, is clothed with long, soft, and woolly hair. The 
head is long, triangular, and gradually tapering into a 
slender and pointed muzzle, which, in proportionate 
length, far exceeds that of any of the Monkeys; the 
ears are short and rounded; and the whiskers but little 
developed. 
The whole of the genus thus characterized are natives 
of Madagascar and of two or three of the smaller islands 
in its immediate vicinity. They appear to occupy in 
that remarkable and very imperfectly known country 
the place of the Monkeys, none of which have yet been 
detected within its precincts. ‘They are said to live in 
numerous troops upon the trees, and to feed upon fruits 
and insects; but their habits in a state of nature have 
not yet been observed with sufficient accuracy to enable 
us to form any clear idea of their mode of existence. 
In captivity they are particularly tame and good tem- 
pered, fond of being noticed, delighting in motion, and 
climbing and leaping with surprising agility. They are, 
however, in some degree nocturnal; and when undis- 
turbed pass a considerable portion of the day in sleep. © 
If alone, they roll themselves up in the form of a ball, 
and wind their long tail in a very curious manner round 
their body, apparently for the purpose of keeping them- 
selves warm; for they are naturally chilly, and delight 
in basking in the rays of the sun, or in creeping as close 
as possible to the fire. When two of them are confined 
together, they interlace their limbs and tails after a sin- 
gular fashion, and placing their heads in such a position 
as that each may, if disturbed, see what is going on 
behind the other’s back, fall comfortably asleep. 
