138 SAUEIANS. 



they love to perch ; they can grasp these branches by holding 

 on with one bundle of fingers before, and the other behind, in the 

 same manner as Woodpeckers, Cuckoos, and Parrots. Chameleons 

 are better able to preserve their equilibrium upon trees than upon 

 the ground ; consequently they are more often seen in those 

 aerial domiciles. Besides, their long and strong prehensile tail 

 serves them as a fifth limb. They swing themselves about like 

 monkeys, grasping the small branches, and thus saving them- 

 selves from falling. Moreover, they are cautious, moving at all 

 times very slowly when going from one branch to another. 

 Walking becomes much more difficult for them when they rest 

 upon a level surface groping their way as they advance, placing 

 their feet upon the earth, one after the other, with the greatest 

 circumspection. They also steady themselves on the ground 

 by the aid of their tail. In their walk they display a certain 

 gravity which contrasts with their diminutive size and the 

 agility which might be expected from them. Even when perched 

 upon a tree their movements exhibit a slowness and delibe- 

 ration that one would be inclined to say was affected. It is 

 true that the arrangement of their eyes, and the rapid move- 

 ments of their tongue, render personal activity superfluous in 

 their search for food. They can see their prey and their enemies 

 from a great distance, and in all directions. The latter they 

 readily avoid. As to their prey, when about to seize it, the 

 Chameleon rolls round its extraordinary eye-balls so as to bring 

 them to bear on the devoted object. As soon as it arrives within 

 range of the tongue, that organ is projected with unerring pre- 

 cision, returning into the mouth with the prey adhering to the 

 viscous tip. This tongue they can extend to a length sometimes 

 surpassing that of their body. The skin of the Chameleon 

 does not adhere to the muscles everywhere ; some spaces are left 

 free, into which the air penetrates, causing the skin to heave and 

 swell ; this mechanism is voluntary, the animal having the power 

 of inflating or relaxing it at pleasure. When this great living 

 bladder is emptied, the animal may be said to resemble a bag 

 of gold-beaters' skin filled with bones. Chameleons exhibit great 

 variation in their colours ; that is to say, they may be almost 

 white, sometimes yellowish, at other times green, reddish, and 



