CONTENTS. v 



PAGE 



Gannet Visib to a Colony of Boobies The Darter, or Snake-neck The Cormorants A Colony of Cormorants 

 The Pelicans Characters Habits Perching on Trees Fishing THE SEA-BIRDS Characters THE 

 SCISSOR-BILLS, OR SKIMMERS THE TERNS, OR SEA-SWALLOWS " Wide-awake Fairs" White Noddies THE TRUE 

 GULLS Characters The Black-backed Gulls Herring Gulls Skuas THE PETRELS Distribution The Diving 

 p e t r el The True Petrels The Albatrosses Capt. Hutton's Remarks on their Unrivalled Powers of Flight . . 178 



CHAPTER X. 



DIVERS PENGUINS TINAMOUS STRUTHIOUS BIRDS LIZARD-TAILED BIRDS. 



THE DIVERS Characters THE AUKS The Great Auk Probably extinct The Razor-bill The Guillemot Mr. 

 Seebohm's Notes of Visits to their Breeding-places The Experiences of a "dimmer" The Rotche The 

 Puffins The True Divers The European Species The Grebes The Little Grebe, or Dabchick The Dabchick's 

 Powers of Diving THE PENGUINS Distinctive Features A Penguin Rookery Life in a "Johnnie" 

 Colony Their Nests Their Habits THE TINAMOUS Their Place in the Class Aves Their Appearance 

 Habits THE STRUTHIOUS BIRDS Their Characters Entirely Terrestrial Odd Use of the Wing 

 in Running Feathering Distribution THE OSTRICHES Characters THE OSTRICH Mention in History 

 Scriptural References Distribution How the Bushman Hunts the Ostrich Method adopted in Morocco 

 Other Modes of Hunting An Omnivorous Bird Its Stride Its Cry Habits Its Resemblance to a Camel The 

 Feathers Exportation of Feathers from Africa A Visit to an Ostrich Farm Use of "Incubators " Habits of 

 the Birds in the Enclosures The Ostrich Dance The Rheas, or American Ostriches THE CASSOWARIES 

 Characters of the Cassowary The Mooruk Its Extraordinary Power of Leaping Dr. Bennett's Account of its 

 Habits The Emus Characters Habits Emu Beef Threatened Extermination Its " Booming " Note THE 

 KIWIS Characters Species Dr. Buller's Account of its Habits Mr. Bartlett's Note on its Attempts at 

 Nesting THE LIZARD-TAILED BIRDS The Archajopteryx Lithographica Description FOSSIL FORMS 

 Evidence from Foot-prints Prof. Marsh's Researches in America Birds with Teeth Other Forms Concluding 

 Remarks , ... 214 



CLASS REPTILIA. THE REPTILES. 

 CHAPTER I. 



THE CHELONIANS. 



General Characters of Reptiles popularly so-called Divided into Reptilia and Amphibia THE BUCKLERED REP- 

 TILES The Four Divisions The Buckler of the Chelonians The Carapace The Plastron Different Kinds 

 of Shells " Tortoiseshell " Protecting Bucklers Feet Shoulder-blade and Arm- joint The Humerus (foot 

 note) Appearance of Tortoise's Head The Process of Eating Skull Mouth and Jaw Eye Ear Tongue 

 How Chelonians Breathe Their Lungs and Heart Digestive Organs The Eggs Extraordinary Vitality 

 of Chelonians Brain THE TORTOISES, THE LAND CHELONIANS Characters THE GREAT LAND 

 TORTOISES Mr. Darwin's Visit to the Galapagos Islands Enormous Size and Weight of the Tortoises Probable 

 Extinction Distinctive Features Habits Great Tortoises at the Water-springs Tortoises of the Mascarene and 

 Aldabra Islands Indian Tortoises The Common or Greek Tortoise African and American Species THE 

 EMYDES, THE RIVER, OR MARSH TORTOISES Characters The Terrapins The American Box 

 Tortoise Habits The Genus Emys Emys europiea The Painted Emys Clemmys insculpta The Caspian 

 Terrapin The Snapping Turtle The Chelodines The Matamata The Snake-necked Tortoises The " Aiyussa " 

 Tortoise -THE TRIONYCIDES, THE MUD, OR SOFT TORTOISES-Characters Habits The Soft-shelled 

 Tortoise The Cryptopus The Egyptian Trionyx The Gangetic Trionyx THE CHELONIADES, THE MARINE 

 CHELONIANS, THE TURTLES -The Green Turtle Habits Size Food Egg-laying How they are Caught 

 Characters The Hawk's-bill Turtle Why so Named How the Tortoiseshell is Obtained -The Logger-headed 

 Turtles The Leather-back Turtles The Sphargis EXTINCT CHELONIANS Classification of the Order . . 241 



CHAPTER II. 



ORDER CROCODIL1A THE CROCODILES, GAVIALS, AND ALLIGATORS. 



THE CROCODILE FAMILY Worshipped by Ancient Egyptians The Crocodile of the Nile Appearance- 

 Peculiar Nature of the Tooth-growth- -Arrangement for Sinking with its Prey without allowing Water 

 to Pass into the Throat How it Obtains Fresh Supplies of Air How it Disposes of its Food Remarkable 

 Eye "Crocodiles' Tears" Distribution Other African Forms The Eggs of the Crocodile The Baby Reptiles 

 -The Indian Species The Salt-water Crocodile Description How it Procures its Food The Marsh Crocodile 

 Appearance Worshipped by Fakirs Ferocity of the Indian Crocodiles after their Torpidity The Victim's 

 only way of Safety Crocodile of North-east Australia The American Kinds Crocodilus AcutusThe Cuba 

 Crocodile THtt GAVIAL FAMILY The Gavial Distinctive Features Habits Second Forms of the 

 Family THE ALLIGATOR FAMILY Difference between Crocodiles and Alligators Characters of the 

 Alligator The Mississippi, or Pike-headed Alligator Habitat Origin of its Name Appearance The Caimans 

 "^VooTT C Jacares- Bates's Account of the Alligators of the Amazons Other Kinds of Jacare 

 sIL C CODILIA - Number in Secondary and Tertiary Ages Antiquity of the Group Marine Group 

 not handed down Characters Terrestrial Forms of the Trias The Theriodontia Hyposaurus and Bottosaurus 

 Classification of the Order 262 



CHAPTER III. 



ORDER SAURIA, OR LACERTILIA THE LIZARDS. 



THE LIZARDS Characters of the Reptiles of the Order THE FISSILINGUES THE SAND LIZARD Prof. 

 Bell's Description THE COMMON LIZARD Habits Young Produced Alive Characters of the Lizard Distinctions 

 between Crocodile, Lizard, and Snake, illustrated by Comparison of the Skull (foot-note) Other Species of 

 Lacerta Peculiarity of the Tail of many Lizards Teeth of Saurians A " Pleurodont " Jaw An "Acrodont" 

 Jaw THE AMEIVID.E- Characters -THE COMMON TEGUEXIN Habits THE COMMON AMEIVA THE WATER 

 LIZARDS Description Why called Monitors THE NILE MONITOR THE SAND MONITOR, OR VARANUS Other 

 Kinds of Varanus The Common Indian Water Lizard The Ocellated Water Lizard The Heloderma 

 THE CRASSILINGUES Characters THE IGUANAS THE GREEN IGUANA Description Habits Character of 

 the Vertebrae Dentition Pleurodont THE BASILISK Appearance THE AMBLYRHYNCHUS CRISTATUS Darwin's 



