THE VOICE OF ANIMALS 
17 
as she proceeded with her task, and could 
hardly be regarded by mere man as a musical 
performance of much merit, yet possibly, 
from a simian point of view, she was a Melba 
of her kind. 
It is somewhat curious that many creatures 
are much more noisy at sunrise and sunset 
than they are during the rest of the day. The 
long-limbed apes known as the gibbons, for 
instance, greet the rising and the setting of 
the sun with a chorus of loud cries that can be 
heard for a distance of several miles, whereas 
during the daytime they go about their business 
in almost complete silence. 
It remains with the South American howlers, 
however, to claim the distinction of being the 
noisiest of all monkeys ; the males, in spite 
of their being little larger than a domestic 
cat, being endowed with a voice that is stated 
to be more powerful than that of any other 
living creature. 
From all accounts it appears that the howlers 
indulge in their vocal performances at intervals 
throughout the evening and night, and when 
once their concert has started they may 
continue to make the forest resound with 
their cries for several hours on end. 
Needless to say, the animals possess very 
efficient lungs, but this fact alone is not 
B 
