THE LACCADIVES AND THE WEST COAST. 435 
It is worthy of record that up to about 1830, enormous 
flocks of sea birds used to breed and lay their eggs amongst 
the brush wood of Betra-Par. When Mr. Robinson (now Nir 
W. Robinson) visited this island in 1844, the people told him that 
barely 10 years before they had gathered from 30 to 50 
thousand eggs there in a day, and that for a long past period 
these eggs had always contributed largely to the support of 
the Islanders. Suddenly, from some unknown cause, the birds 
_entirely deserted the islands, but whither they had gone 
was not then known. We now know that some at least have 
gone to Cherbaniani, and other reefs, and that enormous num- 
bers now breed at the Piti sand bank, to which I shall here- 
after have to recur. 
But if Betra-Par can now-a-days make little show of birds, 
beasts, or plants, it is a perfect paradise for crabs, and, finding 
little employment in other directions, we captured crabs most 
energetically. We got nothing new here, but the variety was 
astounding. There were massive built, sturdy, purple, chocolate 
rascals (Hriplia serabicula and levimana) that ensconsed them- 
selves in holes of rocks in which they fitted to such a nicety that 
it was most difficult to dislodge them. Small long-legged 
silvery fellows (Ocypode cordimana) that scampered along the 
sand at the rate of ten miles an hour, and just when you 
thought you had them, vanished into a hole. Then there were 
some strange, enormous-clawed, cream-colored, and grey-mot- 
tled, knobby fellows, grubbing about in shallow water (Calappa 
tuberculata), which, when they opened out their huge arms, seemed 
to be dividing their bodies into three parts. Then, under every 
stone we turned, were dumpy brownish red individuals, with 
black tips to very stout claws, (Leptodius sanguineus), the hard- 
est biters of the lot. Hundreds of orange red or hermit crabs 
( Cenobita Olivieri) lurked under the branches of all the low 
growing littoral shrubs. 
Of course, the variegated Grapsi swarmed in myriads on 
every part of the reef, and on the coral blocks at the outermost 
face of the island. In one of the small pools, left on the face 
of the reef was a nasty snake like pseudo-lamprey (Murena 
tigrina). It had, as is their wont, the greater part of the body 
hidden in a hole, only the head and neck was extended, and 
kept moving in the water with a perpetual wavy sinnous motion. 
Suddenly an ill-stared Grapsus passed within about a yard, there 
was a dart through the water, a splashing and lashing for a few 
seconds, and then the snaky fish was devouring the crab. 
Both Dr. Armstrong and myself witnessed this same per- 
formance on several occasions from distances of 3 to 10 yards, 
and there is no doubt that these crabs (we never saw 
