is often seen at the base of palm trees or in brush piles. A larger (8 to 14 inches) lizard, green-to-brown in color, prefers to live in or around palm trees, and black lizards of a similiar size inhabit the heavily shaded, brushy areas. Primarily, they all live on flies and other insects.
Geckos range in size from two to eight inches. They feed almost exclusively on flies and often stalk them on vertical walls or ceilings, especially in illuminated areas to which insects are attracted at night. A short sticky tongue enables geckos to catch their fly-food, and so zealous are they in this pursuit that they frequently jump at passing flies and fall to a crash landing.
The only true snake found on the atoll to date is the small, inoffensive burrowing snake. As the name would imply, it spends most of its life underground thriving on a diet of small insects, grubs, and worms. One specimen, contributed by Falalop, was three-and-a-half inches long with a diameter slightly exceeding an eighth of an inch. It was dark brown in color, and had a rounded tail armed with a fine horny point. The scales were smooth and glossy. The head was blunt.
The majority of birds seen on the islands are not permanant residents. Some of them spend only the mating season; others winter here, and still others merely pass through during migration. A few live at Ulithi throughout the year.
Permanant residents are the reef heron, night heron, and the Micronesian starling, our most common and vociferous black bird. The reef heron may often be seen hunting for crustaceans, small fish, and molluscs during low tide on the seaward side of the islands. The species has both a
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