AGAMIDAE 5 I 9 



evening than it is at mid-day. The males are very pugnacious, 

 and change colour as they fight. At the time of courtship a 

 curious performance is gone through by the male, the female 

 remaining concealed in the foliage hard by. He chooses some 

 convenient station, such as a banana leaf or the top of a fence, 

 and advances slowly towards the female. His colour is then 

 pale yellowish flesh-colour, with a conspicuous dark spot on each 

 of the gular pouches, which are extended to their utmost. He 

 stands upright, raising the fore part of the body as high as- 

 possible, and nodding his head solemnly up and down. As he does 

 so, the mouth is rapidly and repeatedly opened and shut, but no 

 sound is emitted. When he is driven away, caught or killed, the 

 dark spot disappears entirely from the neck. If one male is 

 captured, another takes his place within a few hours." 



C. ophiomachus of Southern India and Ceylon reaches 2 

 feet in length, has a fold of skin in front of each shoulder, and is 

 generally known as the " blood-sucker " on account of the red 

 colour displayed during excitement on the head and neck. 



0. mystaceus, chiefly in Burma and Siam, but also in the 

 Nicobar Islands and in Ceylon, has a small gular sac and an 

 oblique fold in front of each shoulder. The specific name seems- 

 to refer to the yellowish lips. Mason 1 gives the following vivid 

 account of it : 



" This is a very common species in gardens in Toung-ngoo, 

 A pair made their home in the mango trees near my study 

 window. The female blundered into the house a few days ago, 

 but I found her a very unattractive animal of a uniform earth- 

 brown colour. The male, however, is sometimes a beauty. He 

 may be often seen jerking his head up and down, with the head, 

 pouch, and whole front of the body a glowing ultramarine blue, 

 contrasting beautifully with the reddish brown of the hinder part 

 of the body and tail. From the nose to the shoulders, below the 

 eye, is a broad white band, which is interrupted by three reddish- 

 brown patches, in line with the white band, before reaching the 

 uniform reddish brown of the hinder part of the body. Occasion- 

 ally the white band below the eye assumes a brownish colour, 

 and the animal appears to have a brown band down each side, 

 He does not always, however, appear in this gay dress. While I 

 am writing, I see him coming down the trunk of one of the trees; 



1 Surma, its People and Productions, London, 1882. 



