578 CHAMAELEONTES 



remain in the most uncomfortable position, forgetting, one might 

 think, to put one or more of its limbs down, but keeping them 

 instead in the air. 



It is most interesting to watch them stalking their prey. 

 Suppose we have introduced some butterflies into their 

 roomy cage, which is furnished with living plants and with 

 plenty of twigs. The Chameleons, hitherto quite motionless, 

 perhaps basking with flattened-out bodies so as to catch as many 

 of the sun's rays as possible, become at once lively. One of 

 them makes for a butterfly which has settled in the farther 

 upper corner of the cage. With unusually fast motions the 

 Chameleon stilts along and across the branches and all seems to 

 go well, until he discovers that the end of the branch is still 8 

 inches from the prey, and he knows perfectly well that 7 inches 

 are the utmost limit to a shot with his tongue. He pauses 

 to think, perhaps with two limbs in the air, but stability is 

 secured by a judicious turn of the tail. After he has solved the 

 puzzle, he retraces his steps to the base of the branch, climbs up 

 the main stem, creeps along the next branch above, and when 

 arrived at the 7 inch distance, he shoots the butterfly with 

 unerring aim. The capacity of the mouth and throat is 

 astonishing. A full-grown Chameleon will catch, chew, and 

 swallow the largest moth, for instance a Sphinx ligustri. When 

 large, the prey is chewed, but the wings and legs are swallowed 

 with the rest. Occasionally these parts are bitten off, especially 

 the prickly long legs of large locusts. 



In water Chameleons are quite helpless. Sometimes they 

 inflate themselves, but they always topple over on to the side, 

 and the movements of their lirnbs are absolutely without any 

 definite purpose. 



When the eggs are ripe, and this happens with the Common 

 Chameleon about the end of October, the female refuses to take 

 food, and becomes restless. One of my specimens searched 

 about probing the ground for about a week before she dug 

 a hole in some more solid soil. This took two days. In the 

 evening I found her sitting in the hole to the middle of her 

 body. On the following morning she was still there, but busy 

 filling the hole with soil and covering it with dry leaves. A 

 few eggs were lying about outside, two of which at least I 

 saw her taking up by the hand and putting them on the 



