THE REPTILES 255 



after the fashion of some birds. The skin is soft, and its wonder- 

 ful colour- changes are well known. The tongue is a most extra- 

 ordinary weapon long, fleshy, cylindrical, expanding into a 

 curious, lobed, cup-shaped tip, and capable of being shot forth 

 with extreme rapidity, the unfortunate insect victim becoming 

 stuck fast to it by a viscid secretion. The lungs are of great size, 

 and this enables the Chameleon to swell itself out and give vent 

 to loud hisses in the curious manner it does when enraged. The 

 colour-change is rapid and very remarkable, enabling the Chame- 

 leon so closely to resemble the colour of the leaves and branches 

 amongst which it lurks awaiting its prey as to make it practically 

 invisible at a short distance. The Chameleon leads a comparatively 

 sedentary life, waiting and watching for the insects upon which 

 it feeds to approach within range of the long tongue, rather than 

 stalking its prey. Its movements are slow, cautious, and deliber- 

 ate. The Common Chameleon has a fairly wide distribution, 

 being found in Southern Spain, the North and South of Africa, in 

 Asia Minor, Ceylon, and many parts of Hindostan. A large num- 

 ber of species or varieties, some very remarkable in appearance, 

 inhabit the island of Madagascar. One of them, called the Rhino- 

 ceros Chameleon, has, in the male, an extraordinary horn-like pro- 

 jection at the end of the muzzle. The remarkable Three-horned 

 Chameleon, the male of which has a long horn over each eye, 

 in addition to the one at the end of the muzzle, is a native of 

 Fernando Po. 



The Skinks are very numerous, and inhabit almost every part 

 of the tropics, some extending into more temperate zones. They 

 are essentially land lizards, frequenting dry ground, and hiding 

 in the sand and under stones. The Common Skink has short limbs 

 and a long body, and a conical and pointed short tail. The neck 

 is stout and the head small and wedge-shaped. It inhabits the 

 western and northern parts of Africa, Senegal, Abyssinia, and 

 Egypt. It loves warmth, and frequents the little hillocks of 

 light sand that the wind accumulates at the foot of hedges which 

 border cultivated land, and of the tamarisks on the edge of the 

 desert. In such situations it delights to bask in the full rays of 

 the burning tropical sun, rousing up to give active chase to any 

 beetles or other insects that may come within range. The Blind- 

 Worm, or Slow- Worm, the so-called Javelin and Glass Snakes, 



