The chances
against an unintellectual lover of turtle eggs discovering a fresh nest
off-hand are in exact ratio to the number of deceptive appearances. In a
few days all the tracks are blotted out, and then none but those skilled
or possessed of keen perception may detect the nest. Blacks probe all
the likely spots with spears, and soon fix on the right one.
In a certain locality where the hawks-bill turtle congregate in untold
numbers, a remarkable deviation from the general habit has been
observed. Several of the islands are composed of a kind of conglomerate
of coral debris, shells and sand. With strange perversity some turtle
excavate in the rock cylindrical shafts about 18 inches deep by 6 inches
diameter with smooth perpendicular sides. There is no adjunct to the
flippers which appears to be of service in the digging, yet the holes
are such that a man would find it impossible to make without the use of
a chisel. Whether they are dug with the flippers, or bored, or bitten
out with the bill, does not appear to be known. Eggs varying in numbers
from 120 to 150 are deposited in each shaft, and covered loosely with
the spoil from the excavation.
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