HABITS. 253 



the fingers, yet so tough that it is difficult to break 

 them, and in appearance resembling white parchment. 

 At the very moment of liberation the young crocodiles 

 display their savage nature in a wonderful degree, 

 biting at every object within reach ; the same vicious 

 propensity is also exhibited by those extricated even 

 before the completion of incubation. I was once 

 greatly amused in watching a struggle between two 

 caricaris and one of these youngsters, not larger than a 

 good-sized lizard. Each time the birds made a dash 

 at him, this little saurian, grunting savagely, darted 

 forward with wide-open jaws, looking for all the world 

 like a young dragon. During ten minutes the 

 struggle continued without decided advantage on either 

 side, when one of the assailants, changing his tactics, 

 suddenly seized the crocodile by the neck with his 

 sharp claws, and soared triumphantly with him into 

 high air. There, loosing his hold, the bird followed 

 his descent with wonderful rapidity, prepared, when he 

 reached the ground, to repeat the blow; but, already 

 half stunned, the victim soon yielded to superior 

 cunning." 



Catesby, in his " Natural History of Carolina," 

 shows us young crocodiles seeking refuge against the 

 voracity of their elder brethren in the thickest parts of 

 the marshy forests. 



