NOTES. 147 



leathery consistency. At Kokobe, in the Anuradhapura 

 District, I came across a batch of crocodile's eggs at hatching 

 time, in a sand hole by a river. Some of the young crocodiles 

 had already escaped, and had entered the water with the 

 egg-shells still attached to them by the navel cord, though the 

 water soon released them. Others were still coiled round in 

 their eggs, or lying half in and half out. On being disturbed 

 they ran about with much activity, uttering low whines, and 

 protesting with angry hisses. The parent was floating in the 

 water not far off, but did not show much anxiety on account 

 of her offspring, and even those young that had escaped into 

 the water did not approach her. 



Altogether I obtained about 24 of these young crocodiles, 

 but they all died off within four months — jirobably the meat 

 and fish diet I gave was indigestible for such young ones, 

 and they no doubt required as food such small animal life as 

 they would have found in their native jungle stream. 



A. F. ABERCROMBY. 



Anuradhapura, June, 1913. 



12. Hoiv a Crocodile feeds. — The crocodile usually seizes its 

 food with a lateral snap, and raising its head out of the water 

 Avith the snout pointing straight upwards, snaps and shakes the 

 morsel until it succeeds in jerking it into its throat. Should 

 any portion (for instance the claw of a bird) catch in the side 

 of its mouth, it either shoves it in with its hind leg or breaks 

 it off with violent slaps of the tail. If the food is too large 

 and the reptile in danger of choking, it returns the food to its 

 mouth by a muscular contraction of its throat, and will then 

 bite and shake it about until a piece is torn off. The teeth of 

 the crocodile are only used for tearing its food, which it never 

 really masticates. In the case of live animals, the crocodile will 

 hold its prey under the water until drowned. The crocodile's 

 nostrils are at the tip of the snout, and while its prey is being 

 drowned the nasal passage comes into close connection with 

 the trachea, and thus the crocodile is able to breathe without 

 swallowing any water. 



