OWL AND SQUIRREL MONKEYS 33 



which are distinguished by their small size, their round 

 heads, very large, owl-like eyes, and long, hairy tails, which 

 are not prehensile. As their staring eyes suggest, these 

 creatures are of nocturnal habits, and in daylight hours are 

 as inactive and uninteresting as opossums. Because of this, 

 they make rather uninteresting pets; but being good- 

 tempered creatures, they are frequently kept. They are 

 sometimes called Dorou-cou'lis. They are found from 

 Central America to southern Brazil. 



The Squirrel Monkeys of northern South America and 

 Central America are next in order, and in activity and general 

 liveliness of habit they make up for all that the owl monkeys 

 lack. They are the most active of all the small American 

 monkeys, and are so nervous and unmanageable that they are 

 unfit for captive life elsewhere than in cages. The Common 

 Squirrel Monkey,^ sometimes, though erroneously, called the 

 Teetee, is a trim little yellow fellow, with a very long cranium, 

 close-haired head, and a very long tail, which he gracefully 

 curls up over his own shoulders whenever he sits down. This 

 species comes from the Guianas and Venezuela, and is very 

 common in captivity. 



This creature is a skilful climber, and it is the only mam- 

 mal I ever saw which could exert sufficient lateral pressure 

 with its hands and feet to enable it to climb with ease a per- 

 fectly smooth, right-angled corner of wood to a height of 

 six feet. 



The Saki Monkeys, of tropical South America east of 

 the Andes, are of medium size, mostly black and shaggy- 



^ Sai-mi'ri sci-u're-a. 



