EAST AFRICAN LIZARDS. 165 



■specimeD, whilst the lowest number found was eleA'en measiu'ing 

 4x4 mm. (10. v. 15). 



Most specimens were found during the earl}^ rains of March- 

 April 1915, when the following notes were made of the use of the 

 horns in fighting, etc. : — 



March 31st, 1915; Nairobi. — I have half-a-dozen live chame- 

 leons on bi-anches of Eucalyptus, which are tied to the cords of the 

 electric lights and about five feet from the ground. 



Whilst sittiug at the table writing, I heaixl the sound of a moth 

 flapping its wiiiijs, and, glancing round, saw a large yellow under- 

 wing (Jlceiias fallonica ?), twice as large as the common English 

 Yellow Underwing, in one of the Eucalyptus branches. Supposing 

 it to have got caught in a spider's web, I seized a. killing-bottle ; 

 on reaching the spot, however, I found that it was caught by the 

 right-hind wing by one of the chameleons. Being large and 

 strong it flapped vigorously : the chameleon, biding its time, 

 gulped it down in the intervals between its struggles until only 

 a small portion of the body of the moth remained to view. 



Meanwhile, the second chameleon on that branch had been 

 ■eyeing its companion with evil intent. As soon as it perceived 

 that the captor was in difliculties, it hurried across the intervening 

 twigs, and pausing only to take aim, shot out its tongue and caught 

 •one of the now feebly flapping wings ; having got this into its 

 nriouth, it commenced a tug-of-war jowl to jowl, and thus succeeded 

 in wrenching the whole moth from its companion's jaws. The 

 poor moth's " fur" was flying in the air, and the first chameleon's 

 mouth was woolly with it — this was all the share of the spoils 

 that it was destined to receive. 



There are three electric-light cords with branches tied to them, 

 ■and on each are two of these chameleons. More than two are 

 not tolerated ; introduce a third, and the two original inhabitants 

 liurry towards it open-mouthed, striding along faster than on any 

 other occasion. As a preliminary to fighting, the opponents face 

 •one another, swaying their bodies from side to side ; and if the 

 intruder does not turn tail at this and cast himself to the gTOund, 

 as is generally the case, he is at once attacked. One of the 

 chameleons Avas very ingenious, placing his chin to the branch, 

 which was of course vertical, so that his I'ostral and prse-orbital 

 horns point directly downwards ; he thus a.dvanced upon the foe 

 as it were with fixed bayonets : by this means he generally 

 succeeded in sweeping his opponent oflT, but sometimes the latter 

 would seize one of the horns with its fore-foot, and a tussle would 

 begin. 



They would bite each other hard, and in one instance the one 

 chameleon mounted the other's back, and digging its claws in 

 continued the attack from this vantage point. So strong was its 

 grip that I had the greatest difliculty in separating the com- 

 batants. Several times have I seen one seize the other's "arm" in 

 very human fashion, and then butt in with its armoured head. 



