80 
SURVIVAL ON LAND AND SEA 
to the hand. With both snakes and lizards, you skin, remove 
the viscera, and cook like any other meat. 
All birds are edible, but some are not desirable. Carrion- 
eating birds, such as vultures should be used only in cases of 
last resort. They are in no way harmful, yet their usual source 
of food is such that it imparts an unpleasant taste to the flesh. 
This is often true of fish-eating birds. They are likely to have 
a definitely fishy flavor. Some birds, particularly parrots and 
hawks, are likely to be tough, but they can be stewed and used 
for soup. All birds’ eggs are good for food, although some may 
be more palatable than others. If you want to be certain of 
fresh eggs remove all but one from the nest and take the fresh 
ones as they are laid. Along the shores and particularly on 
the smaller islands where birds lay their eggs in great numbers 
a section of previously laid eggs can be cleared, the area marked, 
and those left there subsequently gathered and used. 
Animal life differs in its distribution. In some areas there is 
considerable variety and individuals are fairly numerous. Other 
places have only a few forms and not many of each. Too much 
reliance should not be placed on animals as a source of food 
because they are difficult to find and probably will be hard to 
kill with the equipment at hand. If you have a rifle or a 
revolver you may be able to shoot enough to keep going, but 
often it may not be desirable to use firearms. Most of the 
smaller animals can be killed with clubs, may be trapped by 
making noose snares, constructing deadfalls of logs, or by digging 
pits and covering them with light branches, twigs, and leaves. 
Natives generally thrust sharpened split-bamboo or other sticks 
in the bottom of such pits to impale the animals when they fall 
into the hole. Such pits, of course, are placed in game trails. 
