Most are multicolored, with red, white, and brown the most common color patterns. Some species have long hair on the top of the head and showy mustaches. The lion tamarins of eastern Brazil have a mane of long, silky hair on the head and a bright golden-orange coloring. Lion tamarins are in danger of extinction. The growth of urban areas has destroyed much of their habitat.
Tamarins eat fruit, insects, frogs, and tree gums.
They live in groups of up to 40 members and communicate with each other by using a wide variety of high-pitched calls. Infant tamarins cling to the backs of their parents or other family members. Tamarins belong to the tamarin and marmoset family, Callitrichidae. Lion tamarins are genus Leontopithecus. Other tamarins are genus Saguinus.