These islands in the Bay of Nicoya are extremely pleasant and fruitful, abounding in all things necessary for life, such as birds of various kinds, several sorts of fish, and amphibious animals, particularly turtles and guanas.  Among the birds is a very beautiful one called the Maccaw, having feathers of all the colours of the rainbow.  It is in shape like a large parrot, with a white bill, and black legs and feet.  The carrion crow is as big as a small turkey, which it perfectly resembles in shape and colour; but its flesh smells and tastes so strong of muck that it is not eatable.  The pelican is almost as big as a swan, being mostly white with brown tips to the wings, having a long bill with a large cross joining the lower part of the bill, and hanging down the throat like a bag or satchel of great size, into which it receives oysters, cockles, conchs, and other shell-fish, which it is unable to break, and retains them there till they open, when it throws them out and picks out the meat.  They are good food, but taste a little fishy.  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.  They lay in this manner two or three times every year, and go immediately off to sea, leaving their young when hatched to shift for themselves; which, as soon as they get out of the eggs and from the sand, retire to the sea.  The eggs are round and white, as large as those of a duck, being covered with a thin tough skin, but no shell.  I have seen of the green turtle 200, 350, and even 400 pounds weight.  The lean of this animal looks like beef, but the fat is as green as grass, yet is very wholesome food.  The pearl-oyster is much about the size of our common oyster, but thick and broad, and hangs