SUMMARY. 
185 
plants. It uses its broad bill to find food in the mud. A kind of 
fringe on its bill acts as a strainer., letting out the water and mud, 
and keeping the food in. Large flocks of wild ducks live in marshy 
places by the sea. 
LIZARDS (p. 33). 
Description. — A lizard is a reptile. It has cold blood. Its 
body is long, and is covered with scales that fit closely over it. The 
legs (when present) are short. Most lizards have four legs, but 
some are without legs. 
Ha.bits. — They have pointed teeth, and feed on flies and other 
insects, and are very quick in their movements. 
CROCODILES (p. 35). 
Description. — The crocodile is a large reptile. It is very 
much like an alligator, and that name is sometimes given to it in 
mistake. Rows of bony plates cover its body. Its jaws are very 
large, with sharp, pointed teeth. The nostrils are on a lump at the 
end of the snout. 
Ha.bits. — The crocodile drives itself through the water by 
swinging its powerful tail ; by its tail, also, it can knock its prey into 
the water. It sometimes basks in the sun on the river-banks, and 
its eggs are laid in marshy places, or buried in the sand. Often the 
eggs are eaten by the mongoose, by birds and other creatures. Croco- 
diles have lungs for breathing. They raise their nostrils above water 
to get air. 
TADPOLES AND FROGS (p. 38). 
Ta,d poles are hatched from frog's eggs, which are laid in 
jelly-like clusters, called spawn. Tadpoles live only in water ; like 
fishes, they have gills for breathing. They feed on the water- weeds, 
and grow into little frogs. Their gills get smaller, until they dis- 
appear; while lungs grow. Four legs also appear, and the tail 
shrinks away. 
Frog^S. — When the tadpole has become a young frog it leaves 
the water for the land. But it returns to the water sometimes, for 
it is web-footed and a good swimmer. It can also remain under 
water for a long time. On land it can leap well, on account of its 
long hind legs. It delights in wet and swampy places. 
