24 Dwellers of the Sea and Shore 



and efficient agent is one that is properly from the sea- 

 shore itself. This is the sand flea, Orchestia. This 

 busy little scavenger is the purifier of our shores. With- 

 out him our beaches would tend to become places to be 

 avoided rather than regions of charm. His number is 

 legion; yet he works virtually unseen. If, however, we 

 turn over the debris about us we W\\\ find a surprise; 

 the ground underneath becomes alive with him. Our 

 intrusion on his privacy, however, causes a multitu- 

 dinous dispersal, for he immediately scampers away in 

 hundreds and buries himself in the sand or finds some 

 other hiding place. 



No sooner does the receding tide expose a portion 

 of the beach than it takes on an animated aspect. 

 From a thatch-covered mud bank near at hand, fiddler 

 crabs emerge in droves. Like herds of grazing cattle, 

 they follow the creeping water and search among the 

 stones and pebbles for the minute plant food on v/hich 

 they live. The males are easily distinguished by the 

 enormous claw each individual carries. No other crab 

 but the fiddler is provided with a pincer of such prodi- 

 gious proportions. 



A bird alights on the shore, and a panic ensues. 

 Pell-mell the fiddler crabs rush toward the thatch grass 

 and plunge indiscriminately into the burrows which 

 honeycomb the bank. Fear inspires them to make no 

 choice. It is every crab for itself. In the alarm each 

 dives sidewise into the most convenient retreat, and it 

 sometimes happens that a single burrow is completely 

 filled with the fugitives. 



We recognize the newcomer as the green heron; it 

 is hunting for a meal. It settles down on the sand and 



