[Illustration: THE WHITE-TAILED GUEREZA.]
{99}CHARACTERS.--Very similar to _C. guereza_, but "characterised by having
the white brush of the tail very much larger and finer than is the case in
the true Abyssinian _C. guereza_. In the latter animal the proximal 12-16
inches of the tail is short-haired and quite black, only the terminal 8-12
inches being white and tufted, so that the white mantle hangs down from the
body and hides only about one-third of the black part of the tail."
(_Oldfield Thomas._) In _Colobus caudatus_, Mr. Thomas adds, only some
three or four inches of the base of the tail are black, and the remainder
(with the hairs about 20 or 21 inches) is developed into a magnificent
white brush, of which individual hairs are from seven to nine inches in
length. The hairs of the white body-mantle--washed like the tail with
yellowish cream-colour--entirely cover the black at the base of the tail,
the white of the latter and of the mantle being quite continuous.
DISTRIBUTION.--East Africa; very common all round the base of Mount
Kilimanjaro, as Mr. Johnston--who discovered the species--reports. On Mount
Kenia Dr. Gregory, of the British Museum, during his adventurous and
remarkable journey, met with it at a great altitude. It has also been found
at Kisongo, south-east of Lake Victoria and in Uniamuezi, where Sir Richard
Burton obtained it.
HABITS.--The habits of the White-tailed Guereza are very similar to those
of the foregoing; but it would appear to be much more of a mountain-loving
animal than the latter. A creature so strikingly--even
glaringly--ornamented might be supposed to be a very conspicuous object
among its native forests. Dr. Gregory, however, has informed the present
writer that, notwithstanding its distinctive coloration when examined in
{100}the hand, he found it very difficult to detect it in its home amid the
forest-trees at high altitudes, where all the branches are clothed with
long grey-beard lichens, with which its fur very closely harmonizes. Mr. H.
H. Johnston, in describing Mandara's soldiers, says: "On their heads were
crescents made of ostrich feathers, or caps of the _Colobus_ Monkey-skin.
This last-mentioned animal also supplied them with mantles of long black
and white fur, and contributed the heavily-plumed tails which these Çaga
soldiers fixed on to that portion of their body where tails should rightly
appear, if man had not dispensed with such appendages."
"The 'Polume,' as Dr. Livingstone calls this species, is in Uniamuezi known
as the 'Mbega,' and is admired on account of its polished black skin and
snowy-white mane. It is a cleanly animal, ever occupied in polishing its
beautiful garb, which, according to the Arabs, it tears to pieces when
wounded, lest the hunter should profit by it. The 'Mbega' lives in trees,
seldom descending to the ground, and feeds upon fruits and young leaves."
(_Burton._)