Chap. II. 
CEBI MONKEYS. 
10»1 
and alights on the dome of yielding foliage belonging 
to the neighbouring tree, maybe fifty feet beneath ; all 
the rest following the example. They grasp, on falling, 
with hands and tail, right themselves in a moment, and 
then away they go along branch and bough to the next 
tree. The Caiarara owes its name in the Tupi lan- 
guage, macaw or large-headed (Acain, head, and Arara 
macaw), to the disproportionate size of the head com- 
pared with the rest of the body. It is very frequently 
kept as a pet in houses of natives. I kept one myself 
for about a year, which accompanied me in my voyages 
and became very familiar, coming to me always on wet 
nights to share my blanket. It is a most restless 
creature, but is not playful like most of the American 
monkeys ; the restlessness of its disposition seeming to 
arise from great nervous irritability and discontent. 
The anxious, painful, and changeable expression of its 
countenance, and the want of purpose in its move- 
ments, betray this. Its actions are like those of a way- 
ward child ; it does not seem happy even when it has 
plenty of its favourite food, bananas ; but will leave 
its own meal to snatch the morsels out of the hands 
of its companions. It differs in these mental traits 
from its nearest kindred, for another common Cebus, 
found in the same parts of the forest, the Prego mon- 
key (Cebus cirrhifer?), is a much quieter and better- 
tempered animal ; it is full of tricks, but these are 
generally of a playful character. 
The Caiarara keeps the house in a perpetual uproar 
where it is kept : when alarmed, or hungry, or excited 
by envy, it screams piteously ; it is always, however. 
