XVII 
TERRESTRIAL AMBLYRHYNCHUS 
4 i 5 
throughout the year ; but they consume much of the succulent 
cactus, the branches of which are occasionally broken off by 
the wind. I several times threw a piece to two or three of 
them when together ; and it was amusing enough to see them 
trying to seize and carry it away in their mouths, like so many 
hungry dogs with a bone. They eat very deliberately, but do 
not chew their food. The little birds are aware how harmless 
these creatures are : I have seen one of the thick-billed finches 
picking at one end of a piece of cactus (which is much relished 
by all the animals of the lower region), whilst a lizard was 
eating at the other end ; and afterwards the little bird with the 
utmost indifference hopped on the back of the reptile. 
I opened the stomachs of several, and found them full of 
vegetable fibres and leaves of different trees, especially of an 
acacia. In the upper region they live chiefly on the acid and 
astringent berries of the guayavita, under which trees I have 
seen these lizards and the huge tortoises feeding together. To 
obtain the acacia-leaves they crawl up the low stunted trees ; 
and it is not uncommon to see a pair quietly browsing, whilst 
seated on a branch several feet above the ground. These 
lizards, when cooked, yield a white meat, which is liked by those 
whose stomachs soar above all prejudices. Humboldt has 
remarked that in intertropical South America all lizards which 
inhabit dry regions are esteemed delicacies for the table. The 
inhabitants state that those which inhabit the upper damp parts 
drink water, but that the others do not, like the tortoises, travel 
up for it from the lower sterile country. At the time of our 
visit, the females had within their bodies numerous largre, 
elongated eggs, which they lay in their burrows: the inhabitants 
seek them for food. 
These two species of Ambiyrhynchus agree, as I have, 
already stated, in their general structure, and in many of their 
habits. Neither have that rapid movement, so characteristic of 
the genera Lacerta and Iguana. They are both herbivorous, 
although the kind of vegetation on which they feed is so very 
different. Mr. Bell has given the name to the genus from the 
shortness of the snout ; indeed, the form of the mouth may 
almost be compared to that of the tortoise ; one is led to sup¬ 
pose that this is an adaptation to their herbivorous appetites. 
It is very interesting thus to find a well-characterised genus, 
