

BREYDON GULLS AND BREYDON CRABS 195 



that are scattered here and there, behind the hanging heaps 

 of fucus, under and among the roots of the Zostera^ and un- 

 doubtedly in the ooze itself. At certain intervals hundreds 

 of thousands of white chalky skeletons, perfect in carapace 

 and to claw-tips, are strewn along the high-water line on the 

 walls and ronds ; sometimes they are uniformly the size 

 of a horse-bean ; then they average about farthing-size, 

 then a halfpenny; and so on until the late autumn, when 

 they run as large as a half-crown. Rightly fearing danger, 

 the crabs wisely hide during this period of weakness. I have 

 never yet detected one casting its shell. 



In turn the shore-crab is himself largely preyed on. Various 

 gulls hunt most assiduously for him, smashing the carapace 

 and killing him instantly by a nip of their powerful mandibles. 

 You will sometimes find six and seven in a row in the stomach 

 of the eel ; codlings are often packed with them ; and small 

 examples are eagerly devoured by various shore-birds. 



Shore-crabs taken in nets off the foreshore are invariably 

 brighter coloured than those captured on a muddy bottom. 

 Breydon crabs are as dully hued as the mud over which they 

 shamble. 



I saw an exceedingly funny incident in which a rook and 

 a crab figured on July 3Oth, 1906. The rook was foraging 

 for his breakfast on one of the flats not many yards away 

 from me, when I was looking out of the window of Jary's 

 houseboat, when suddenly he came across a shore-crab hunt- 

 ing here and there for anything it might find good to eat. 

 Hopping in a sort of self-congratulatory manner up to the 

 crab, he was about to seize it, when the crustacean raised 

 itself on its claw-tips and showed fight with its pincer-claws. 

 The rook was taken aback, and hesitated, the crab taking 

 advantage of this show of timidity, and scuttling back a few 

 inches, on which the rook came at him again. The menace 

 was repeated, and the bird again drew back. This manoeuvre 

 was repeated four or five times, the wily crustacean getting 

 nearer to the drain at every run. The rook seemed at last 

 to be really making up its mind to seize the crab at all 

 hazards, but he was too late, for with another spurt the crab 

 had reached the water and tumbled in. The rook looked 

 exceedingly foolish, and appeared to be really comforted by 

 the fact that no rival had seen the incident. 



