272 TROPICAL NATURE III 
in books of travel of the silence and gloom of the Brazilian 
forests. They are realities, and the impression deepens on a 
longer acquaintance. The few sounds of birds are of that 
pensive and mysterious character which intensifies the feeling 
of solitude rather than imparts a sense of life and cheerfulness. 
Sometimes in the midst of the stillness a sudden yell or scream 
will startle one ; this comes from some defenceless fruit-eating 
animal which is pounced upon by a tiger-cat or a boa-con- 
strictor. Morning and evening the howling monkeys make a 
most fearful and harrowing noise, under which it is difficult 
to keep up one’s buoyancy of spirit. The feeling of inhos- 
pitable wildness which the forest is calculated to inspire is 
increased tenfold under this fearful uproar. Often, even in 
the still mid-day hours, a sudden crash will be heard resound- 
ing afar through the wilderness, as some great bough or entire 
tree falls to the ground.” With a few verbal alterations these 
remarks will apply equally to the primeval forests of the 
Malay Archipelago; and it is probable that those of West 
Africa offer no important differences in this respect. There 
is, nevertheless, one form of life which is very rarely absent 
in the more luxuriant parts of the tropics, and which is more 
often so abundant as to form a decided feature in the scene. 
It is therefore the group which best characterises the equa- 
torial zone, and should form the starting-point for our review. 
This group is that of the 
Diurnal Lepidoptera or Butterflies 
Wherever in the equatorial zone a considerable extent of 
the primeval forest remains, the observer can hardly fail to be 
struck by the abundance and the conspicuous beauty of the 
butterflies. Not only are they abundant in individuals, but 
their large size, their elegant forms, their rich and varied 
colours, and the number of distinct species almost everywhere 
to be met with, are equally remarkable. In many localities 
near the northern or southern tropics they are perhaps equally 
abundant, but these spots are more or less exceptional, whereas 
within the equatorial zone, and with the limitations above 
stated, butterflies form one of the most constant and most 
conspicuous displays of animal life. They abound most in 
old and tolerably open roads and pathways through the forest, 
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