150 NEW YORK ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 



ard assumes a pale green tint, with the under surfaces of the body 

 and limbs white and immaculate. 



FEEDING HABITS. 



Owing to the great variability of anatomical characteristics, 

 :he feeding habits of lizards differ greatly. They may, in conse- 

 quence, be divided into several groups for the convenience of de- 

 scription. Some species are omnivorous. 



Carnivorous Species. — Under this head the Monitors come first 

 in importance. Four species have been on exhibition in the Rep- 

 tile House, namely: the Ceylonese Monitor (Varanus salva- 

 tor) ; Yellow-Bellied Monitor (Varanus Uavescens) ; Gould's 

 Monitor (Varanus gouldii), and the Brown Monitor (Varanus 

 griseus). 



The feeding habits of these species are very similar. The 

 Monitor's method of attacking a small mammal resembles more 

 the actions of warm-blooded animals rather than those of rep- 

 tiles. Rushing for the ill-fated creature at a speed that rapidly 

 overtakes it, the lizard seizes the quarry and shakes it in much 

 the same manner as a terrier treats a rat. If the creature 

 struggles so violently that there is a possibility of its escape, 

 the reptile holds it to the ground under its powerful claws, 

 while the jaws take a firmer hold, and the shaking process 

 is renewed. The prey is killed quickly, and if it is small, the 

 reptile tosses it about in its jaws until the head points down the 

 throat, when it is swallowed in the same manner that an owl con- 

 sumes a mouse or a scrap of meat — by a series of quick, reaching 

 gulps. If the prey is large and heavy, it is dropped to the ground 

 and picked up carefully by the head, when the swallowing process 

 is the same, though more prolonged and difficult. The fine, large 

 specimen of Varanus salvator that has thrived for several years 

 in the Reptile House, is frequently given a full-grown pigeon, 

 which is killed immediately before placing it in the Monitor's 

 cage. With but little difficulty the reptile swallows the pigeon 

 entire. This specimen, like all the Monitors, is voraciously fond 

 of eggs, and will take from eight to ten hens' eggs at a meal, 

 swallowing them entire, and with such rapidity that the eggs 

 come in contact with one another in passing down the reptile's 

 throat, and produce a clicking sound that is quite audible to any 

 one standing near. Within twenty-four hours the gastric juices 

 have so disintegrated the shells that they are broken by the com- 

 pression of the reptile's stomach, the contents of the eggs are di- 

 gested, and the shells entirely dissolved. Besides small mam- 



