CHAMELEON. Chameleo vulgdris. 



LARGE-NAPED CHAiMELEON -CJuimeleo bifurcu*. 



Owing to the exceeding slowness of its movements, it has no way of escaping when 

 once discovered, and as a French writer well says, "un Cameleon aper$u est un Came'le'on 

 perdu." Great numbers of these creatures fall victims to enemies of every kind, and 

 were it not that their colour assimilates so well with the foliage on which they dwell, 

 and their movements are so slow as to give no aid to the searching eye of their foes, the 

 race would soon be extinct. The Chameleon has an odd habit of puffing out its body for 

 some unexplained reason, and inflating itself until it swells to nearly twice its usual size. 

 In this curious state it will remain for several hours, sometimes allowing itself to collapse 

 a little, and then reinflating its skin until it becomes as tense as a drum and looks as 

 hollow as a balloon. 



The Chameleon is readily tamed, if such a word can be applied to the imperturbable 

 nonchalance with which it behaves under every change of circumstance. It can be 

 handled without danger, and although its teeth are strong, will not attempt to bite the 

 hand that holds it. It is, however, rather quarrelsome with its own kind, and the only 

 excitement under which it has been seen to labour is when it takes to fighting with a 

 neighbour. Not that even then it hurries itself particularly or does much harm to its 

 opponent, the combatants contenting themselves with knocking their tails together in a 

 grave and systematic manner. 



A few words on the change of colour will not be out of place. The usual colour of the 

 Chameleon when in its wild state is green, from which it passes through the shades of 

 violet, blue and yellow, of which the green consists. In this country, however, it rarely 

 retains the bright green hue, the colour fading into yellowish grey, or the kind of tint 

 which is known asfeuitte-morte. One of the best and most philosophical disquisitions on 



