Their feet are broad, and webbed like ducks, being water fowl,
yet they commonly roost on rocks or trees, and always sit with their
heads to the wind, varying their posture as that changes.
They are heavy
birds and fly slowly, and always when sitting rest their long bills
upon their breasts. The Guana is an amphibious animal, found both on
land and in the water. It is about three feet long, some more some less,
and is very ugly, having large sharp scales, black and green, from the
fore part of the head to the end of the tail. The mouth is furnished
with numerous large and sharp teeth, and it has four long claws on each
foot. They commonly breed in holes about the roots of old trees near the
water. When stewed with some spice, their flesh is very white and eats
well, making also good broth; but if not extraordinarily well boiled, it
is very dangerous meat, making men very sick and often occasioning
fevers.
There are several kinds of turtles, or sea tortoises, but we account
the green turtle the best meat. When they want to lay their eggs, they
go on shore in some sandy bay, where they make a hole in the sand with
their fins, two feet and a half deep, in which one turtle will deposit
from eighty to ninety eggs, which they cover over with the sand, leaving
them to hatch by the heat of the sun.
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