iiawk's-bill turtle. 



Mater, being still distant thirty or forty yards from the 

 beach, looks around her, and attentively examines the 

 objects on shore. Should she observe nothing likely to 

 disturb her intended operations, she emits a loud hissing 

 sound, by which such of her many enemies as are unac- 

 customed to it are startled, and so are apt to remove to 

 another place, although unseen by her. Should she hear 

 any noise, or perceive any indications of danger, she in- 

 stantly sinks, and goes off to a considerable distance; but 

 should everything be quiet, she advances slowly towards 

 the beach, crawls over it, her head raised to the full 

 stretch of her neck, and wdien she has reached a place 

 fitted for her purpose, she gazes all around in silence. 

 Finding ' all well, 1 she proceeds to form a hole in the sand, 

 which she effects by removing it from under her body with 

 her hind flappers, scooping it out w\t\\ so much dexterity 

 that the sides seldom if ever fall in. The sand is raised 

 alternately with each flapper, as with a large ladle, until it 

 has accumulated behind her, when, supporting herself with 

 her head and fore part on the ground fronting her body, 

 she, with a spring from each flapper, sends the sand 

 around her, scattering it to the distance of several feet. 

 In this manner the hole is dug to the depth of eighteen 

 inches, or sometimes more than two feet. This labour I 

 have seen performed in the short period of nine minutes. 

 The eggs are then dropped one by one, and disposed in 

 regular layers, to the number of a hundred and fifty, or 

 sometimes nearly two hundred. The whole time spent in 

 this part of the operation may be about twenty minutes. 

 She now scrapes the loose sand back over the eggs, and so 

 levels and smooths the surface, that few persons on seeing 

 the spot could imagine anything had been done to it. This 

 accomplished to her mind, she retreats to the water with 



