74 CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE ORNITHOLOGY OF INDIA. 



of Diogenes and Paguristes at the water's edge, but practically 

 all them Cenobitas. Olivieri a bright scarlet, brighter than that 

 of any boiled lobster, rugosa, a beautiful purple, and clypeata, 

 mauve with a blue or brown spot on the big claw. 



I was perfectly fascinated with these crabs ; their omni- 

 presence to begin with was overwhelming ; I had never conceiv- 

 ed that the whole world could hold so many, let alone one 

 single spot. Then they were so amusing, everywhere were 

 little breakfast parties. A great Barringtonia fruit, as a piece 

 de resistance surrounded by a small family circle, individuals 

 of all sizes, all eating away as if their lives depended on 

 getting down the greatest quantity in the smallest possible time. 

 Here two would be seen fighting very lustily, there persuing 

 each other; between my very feet, as I stood motionless watch- 

 ing the busy crowd, a large red-fellow came along in a most 

 disreputable shell clearly too small for him, and meeting a small 

 purple chap in an eminently desirable residence he pounced upon 

 him, had him out of it in a jiffey, and slipped into it himself, 

 while the evicted tenant had iu another minute suited himself 

 with a new abode, and straightway toddled off as lively as if 

 nothing had happened. Now how did the big crab get the 

 smaller one out ? You may hawl away from outside and pull 

 the thing to pieces you can never get him out, and I want to 

 know how the other crab managed it. If he had had a cheroot it 

 would have been different, but he hacVnt ! It is easy enough, 

 as I soon discovered, to turn them out, if you have 

 a cheroot. You keep the lighted extremity against the 

 upper end of the shell and puff vigorously ; the crab 

 begins to show signs of uneasiness, he looks out and 

 feels about with his claws, sees something hideous (yourself,) 

 concludes that the sun is rather hot and retreats to continue 

 his siesta. After another minute or so he decides that the 

 sun is really getting unbearably hot, and that he will go off 

 and finish his nap in the shade. Out again come the claws 

 and legs. " Hullo," he says, " nothing to be touched, very odd 

 this, something up," audpops back again; then you bend slowly 

 down till the shell just touches the beach, and by this time he has 

 come to the conclusion that his house is certainly on fire, and 

 he scuttles away shell-less, dragging his slimy slug-like poste- 

 rior extremities after him without much difficulty for about a 

 yard, after which he sits down, having wriggled his tail 

 between some stones and shells, to consider the position of 

 affairs ; presently legs and claw T s are all extended, and liicker 

 about, feeling here, there, and everywhere ; then a shell is 



