256 THE COURTSHIP OF ANIMALS 



with ears that which I had been so long waiting for. That 

 is to say, I heard a noise very much Hke that which an 

 angry squirrel makes, and discovered that it came from a 

 red ocypode crab into whose burrow another individual 

 had trespassed. 



" In order to understand the matter it should be known 

 that these crabs . . . are gregarious, and that each one 

 has a burrow of its own. Though they may be seen 

 marching in battalions across the sand, yet as a rule they 

 stay close to their burrows, methodically searching and 

 sifting the surrounding sand for any food that may have 

 been thrown up by the tide, and flying to their burrows 

 with headlong speed when alarmed. At first sight one 

 does not understand the necessity for so much wariness, 

 and for such a deep system of entrenchment, for the 

 creatures seem to hold undisputed possession of the whole 

 shore ; but as a matter of fact they are preyed upon all 

 day long by Brahminy kites, and when the jackals come 

 out in the evening, by them. Now, although each crab 

 may on ordinary peaceful occasions know its own home, 

 yet when a crowd of them are running for their lives they 

 may sometimes, one would think, act on the devil take the 

 hindmost principle and try to squeeze into the nearest 

 burrow. But as ancient philosophers do report, things 

 may be done upon occasion which it is inexpedient to 

 make a habit of doing, and this seems to be one of those 

 things ; for if many Crabs made a practice of crowding 

 into one small burrow they would certainly run the risk 

 of being suffocated, if not crushed to death outright. It 

 seems probable, therefore, that it would be advantageous 

 to the species as a whole if the rights of property in 

 burrows were rigidly respected, and if each individual 

 member possessed some means of giving notice that its 



