IGUANAS, 117 
Darwin, “till half of its body was buried ; I then walked up and 
pulled it by the tail; at this it was greatly astonished, and soon 
shuffled up to see what was the matter; and then stared me in the 
face, as much as to say, ‘What made you pull my tail?’ They feed 
by day, and do not wander far from their burrows ; and if frightened, 
they rush to them with a most awkward gait. Except when running 
down-hill, they cannot move very fast; which appears chiefly owing 
to the lateral position of their legs. ‘They are not at all timorous; 
when attentively watching any one they curl up their tails, and, 
raising themselves on their front legs, nod their head vertically, with 
a quick movement, and try to look very fierce, but in reality they 
are not at all so; if one just stamps the ground, down go thar tails, 
and off they shuffle as quickly as they can. I have several times 
observed small fly-eating Lizards, when watching anything, nod 
their heads in precisely the same manner ; but I do not at all know 
for what purpose. If the Amblyrhynchus is held, and plagued with 
a stick, it will bite it very severely ; but I caught many by the tail, 
and they never tried to bite me. If two are placed on the ground, 
and held together, they will fight and bite each other till blood is 
“drawn. ‘Those individuals (and they are the greater number) which 
inhabit the lower country, can scarcely taste a drop of water 
throughout the year; but they consume much of the succulent 
cactus, the branches of which are occasionally broken off by the 
wind. I have sometimes thrown a piece to two or three, when 
together ; and it was amusing enough to sce each trying to seize and 
carry it away in its mouth, like so many hungry dogs with a bone. 
They eat very deliberately, but do not chew their food. ‘The little 
birds are aware how harmless these creatures are: I have seen one 
of the thick-billed finches (peculiar to the Gallapagos) picking at one 
end of a piece of cactus—which is in request among all the animals 
of the lower region—whilst a lizard was eating at the other; and 
afterwards the little bird, with the utmost indifference, hopped on the 
back of the reptile. The stomachs of several that I opened were full 
of vegetable fibres and leaves of different trees, especially of a species 
of Acacia. In the upper region they live chiefly on the acid and 
astringent berries of the Guayavita, under which trees I have seen 
these lizards and the huge tortoises feeding together. ‘To obtain 
the acacia leaves, they crawl up the low, stunted trees ; and it is not 
uncommon to see one, or a pair, quietly browsing whilst seated on a 
branch several feet from the ground. 
* “ The meat of these animals, when cooked, is white; and by those 
whose stcmcchs rise above all prejudices, it is relished as very good 
