50 HOMES WITHOUT HANDS. 



the inner surface is flesh-coloured, and the outer surface pinky 

 white, sometimes nearly pure white. 



Having now glanced at the general form of the Duckbill as it 

 is in life, and not as it is in museums, we will pass to the 

 habitation which it constructs. 



Being a peculiarly aquatic animal, the DuckbUl always makes 

 its home in the bank of some stream, almost invariably at those 

 wider and stiller parts of the river, which are popularly called 

 ponds. There are always two entrances to the burrow, one 

 below the surface of the water and the other above, so that the 

 animal may be able to regain its home either by diving, or by 

 slipping into the entrance which is above the surface. This 

 latter entrance is always hidden most carefully under over- 

 shadowing weeds and drooping plants, and is so carefuUy con- 

 cealed that the unaccustomed eyes of an European can very 

 seldom find it. 



When the grasses, &c. are put aside, there is seen a hole of 

 moderate size, on the sides of which are imprinted the footmarks 

 of the animal. By the dampness and sharpness of these im- 

 pressions, the natives can form a tolerably accurate opinion 

 whether the creature is likely to be at home or not, as in the 

 former case, the footmarks which point upwards are fresher and 

 wetter than those which point downwards. "While digging out 

 the Duckbill, they occasionally pull out a handful of the clay, 

 inspect the marks, and then fall to work afresh. Prom this hole 

 the burrow passes upwards, winding a sinuous course, and often 

 miming to a considerable length. From twenty to thirty feet is 

 the usual average, but burrows have been opened where the 

 length was full fifty feet, and where the course was most annoy- 

 ingly variable, bending and twisting about so as to tire the 

 excavators, and make them quite disgusted with their work. 

 The natives never dig out the entire burrow, but push sticks 

 along it, and sink shafts upon the sticks ; just, in fact, as a boy 

 digs out a humble bee's nest, by inserting twigs into the hole, 

 and digging down upon them. 



This serpentine form of burrow is in all probability attributable 

 in a great degree to the peculiar instincts of the animal. As, 

 however, the course of the tunnel is extremely variable, and no 

 two burrows have precisely the same curves and windings, it is 

 likely that various obstacles, such as roots and stones, may 



