HOUSE-LIZARD. 281 



and are concealed in damp and rotten logs. The young, 

 when first excluded, are of a bluer tinge than the mother- 

 reptile, and begin to crawl immediately on their expulsion 

 from the ovum. 



The House-Lizard, or "Chichak", of the Malays, 

 (Ptyodactylm Gecko) is common. During the day it con- 

 ceals itself from view, and towards evening, runs across 

 the rafters, emitting its sharp, chirping note. On one 

 occasion, I was much amused with a struggle between one 

 of these domestic reptiles, and a large tarantula spider. 

 The Chicaak proved victorious, and succeeded in swal- 

 lowing the insect, whose enormous legs, protruding from 

 the lizard's mouth, gave the compound animal the aspect 

 of some wondrous Octopod.* The natives are fond of 

 the " Chichak," permitting it to harbour in security, for 

 it clears their bamboo-dwellings of Spiders, Scorpions, 

 Centipedes, and other vermin. 



The Grass-Lizard (Tachysaurus Japonicus) is a slender, 

 graceful reptile, of the most brilliant green, with a yel- 

 lowish stripe on either side, and a tapering tail, four 

 times the length of the body. It is found among the 

 high grass, and in dense brakes, where the flowers are 

 thickest. Here light, elegant, and sprightly, it preys on 

 flies, and Orthopterous insects, which it captures in a 

 most expert and dexterous manner. I have met with it 

 also among the Korean Islands, the Meia-co-shimahs, and 

 at Sama-Sana Island, in the China Sea. 



* Pliny records the fact, however, that spiders are in the habit of 

 capturing small Lizards, first entangling them in their webs, afterwards 

 destroying them with their jaws, a spectacle, he observes, worthy of the 

 amphitheatre ! 



