160 COLLECTOR'S RAMBLES 



which form their homes. Here they lie in wait for 

 whatever in the insect line is unfortunate enough to 

 fall into their trap. By walking cautiously up to one 

 of their holes, and dropping an ant near it, an interest- 

 ing scene will take place. In trying to escape, the ant 

 sends a few grains of sand rolling down the steep sides 

 of the trap, and then up comes a shower of sand from 

 the bottom, which confuses the ant, causing him to lose 

 his footing and roll to the bottom, where the powerful 

 jaws seize him in a deadly grip, and pull him under the 

 sand. When the ant-lion has finished his meal, he 

 snaps, with a jerk of his head, the dry skin of the ant 

 out of the hole ; and, settling himself in the sand once 

 more, is ready for the next victim. I took several of 

 these little fellows, in a box of sand, to the hotel, and 

 they proved very interesting pets. They soon began 

 making their cones, throwing out the sand with their 

 heads. If I did not feed them often, they became 

 discontented, and, deserting their old places, would 

 move to other parts of the box; thinking, no 

 doubt, that the game was all destroyed in their 

 old quarters. 



While walking, one afternoon, on the bank of the 

 river, I saw for the first time that giant among birds, 

 the jabiru, wading in the shallow water. I watched 

 him with great interest. He stood four or five feet 

 high, and kept a sharp eye on all that looked suspi- 

 cious. He had a very large black beak, a dark brown 



