12 THE HAUNTS OF LIFE 
plumage, the ruddy legs, the red and yellow 
bill, the shrill cry, the rapid flight, make it 
very conspicuous. It breaks a hole in one valve 
of the mussel’s shell, and inserting its bill 
scoops out the palatable flesh. With a dexter- 
ous side-stroke of its strong bill it can jerk the 
limpet off the rock; but to do this, as everyone 
knows who has tried, it is necessary to take 
the mollusc unawares and to strike quickly. 
REPTILES.—There is a marine lizard (4m- 
blyrhynchus) on the Galapagos Islands that 
swims out to sea and dives after seaweed. 
There are sea-snakes that come ashore to 
bring forth their young. Crocodiles and alli- 
gators may be found on the shores of estuaries. 
The sea-turtles bury their eggs in the sand of 
sun-baked shores. 
AMPHIBIANS.—There seems to be some- 
thing about salt that is prejudicial to am- 
phibians. ‘Thus they are not found near the 
sea and are unrepresented on Oceanic Islands, 
where the tenants are restricted to those crea- 
tures that could survive being drifted on logs 
and the like, or could be carried by birds or 
the wind. But we are reminded of the dan- 
