_Simia albifrons_, Humb., Obs. Zool., p. 323 (1811).
_Cebus chrysopes_ (Le Sajou à pieds dorés), Fr. Cuv., Hist. Nat. Mammif.,
pl. 51 (part.).
_Cebus albifrons_, Is. Geoffr., Ann. Mus., xix., p. 111 (1812); Gray,
Cat. Monkeys Brit. Mus., p. 50 (1870); Schl., Mus. Pays Bas, vii., p. 195
(1876, part.)
_Cebus leucocephalus_, Gray, t. c. p. 50.
_Cebus versicolor_, Pucher., Rev. Zool., 1845, p. 335 (part).
{214}CHARACTERS.--Head large in proportion to the body. Hair of crown
short, reflexed, without crest or "horns." Tail with rather long hair.
Face, forehead, throat, shoulders, and crest white. General colour of body
light or reddish-brown; back and outer side of the limbs, brownish-red.
DISTRIBUTION.--Generally distributed through the forests of the level
country of the Upper Amazon.
HABITS.--The Caiarara, as the Tupi Indians name this species, lives in
troops in the forests and feeds on fruits. Mr. Bates, who kept one in
captivity for a considerable period during his stay in the Upper Amazon
region, describes it as "a most restless creature, but 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 movements, betray this. Its actions are like those of a
wayward 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 Monkey (_C. cirrifer_), is a much quieter and better
tempered animal.... The Caiarara [called Ouavapavi, by Humboldt] is always
making some noise or other, often screwing up its mouth and uttering a
succession of loud notes resembling a whistle." It is the most wonderful
leaper of the whole tribe. Mr. Bates has also recorded:--"The troops
consist of thirty or more individuals which travel in single file. When the
foremost of the flock reaches the outermost branch of an unusually lofty
tree he springs forth {215}into the air without a moment's hesitation 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." Mr. Belt also
mentions having kept a White-fronted Capuchin in captivity for a long time.
Its actions, he tells us, were very human-like. "He had quite an extensive
vocabulary of sounds, varying from a gruff bark to a shrill whistle; and we
could tell by them, without seeing him, when it was he was hungry, eating,
frightened, or menacing; doubtless one of his own species would have
understood various minor shades of intonation and expression that we, not
entering into his feelings and wants, passed over as unintelligible."