12 THE HAUNTS OF LIFE 



plumage, the ruddy legs, the red and yellow 

 bill, the shrill cry, the rapid flight, make it 

 very conspicuous. It breaks a hole in one valve 

 of the mussel's shell, and inserting its bill 

 scoops out the palatable flesh. With a dexter- 

 ous side-stroke of its strong bill it can jerk the 

 limpet off the rock ; but to do this, as everyone 

 knows who has tried, it is necessary to take 

 the mollusc unawares and to strike quickly. 



REPTILES. There is a marine lizard (Am- 

 blyrhynchus) on the Galapagos Islands that 

 swims out to sea and dives after seaweed. 

 There are sea-snakes that come ashore to 

 bring forth their young. Crocodiles and alli- 

 gators may be found on the shores of estuaries. 

 The sea-turtles bury their eggs in the sand of 

 sun-baked shores. 



AMPHIBIANS. There seems to be some- 

 thing about salt that is prejudicial to am- 

 phibians. Thus they are not found near the 

 sea and are unrepresented on Oceanic Islands, 

 where the tenants are restricted to those crea- 

 tures that could survive being drifted on logs 

 and the like, or could be carried by birds or 

 the wind. But we are reminded of the dan- 



