hidden by the borders of the bucklers and the bands; they then contract the body as far towards the shape of a ball as the stretching of the membrane which unites the different movable pieces of the armour will permit.[8] Thus defended, they frequently escape danger; but if near a precipice, the animal will sometimes roll itself over, and in this case, says Molina, in his Natural History of Chili, it generally falls to the bottom unhurt.

[8] It should here be observed that the Three-banded Armadillo is remarkable for the faculty of rolling itself up more completely than the other species.  It can, in so doing, totally conceal the head, the tail, and the fore feet, which none of the other species can completely effect.—­Cuvier.

Armadillos were formerly thought to feed exclusively on vegetables; but they have since been found to devour insects and flesh.  The directions of their burrows evince that they search after ant heaps, and the insects quickly disappear from near the hole of an Armadillo.  The largest species, the great black Armadillo, common in the forests of Paraguay, feeds on the carcasses of animals; and the graves of the dead which are necessarily formed at a distance from the usual places of sepulture, in countries where the great Armadillo is found, are protected by strong double boards to prevent the animal from penetrating and devouring the body.  It appears, also, that it eats young birds, eggs, snakes, lizards, &c.  The Indians are very fond of the flesh of the Armadillo as food, especially when young; but, when old, it acquires a strong musky flavour.  Mr. Waterton, who tasted the flesh, considered it strong and rank.  The shells or crusts are applied to various useful purposes, and painted of different colours are made into boxes, baskets, &c.

Cuvier remarks that that old mode of distinguishing the species of Armadillos by the number of the bands is clearly objectionable, inasmuch as D’Azara has established that not only the number of these bands varies, in the different individuals of the same species, but further, that there are individuals of different species which have the same number of bands.  Eight species mentioned by D’Azara are admitted as distinct, but the whole number is very doubtful.

(The species represented in the Cut,[9] or, the Nine-banded, is the most common.  In the Zoological Gardens, in the Regent’s Park, and in Surrey, are several specimens.  They are usually kept in cages, but on fine sunny days are let out upon the turf.  Their general pace may here be seen to advantage:  it is a sort of quick shuffling walk, and they get over the ground easily, notwithstanding the weight of their shelly covering.)

    [9] From a specimen figured in Dr. Shaw’s Zoological Lectures,
    with plates, by Mrs. Griffith, vol. i.