220 MR. W.- A. LAMBORN ON THE 



ground excavated by the female and are then covered with earth. 

 The choice of a situation to the liking of the female seems to be 

 a difficult one, for she will frequently make several burrows 

 without ovipositing in any. These are left open, with the little 

 heap of earth at one side. 



As is to be expected, the males are exceedingly combative, and 

 the entry of one into the preserves of another usually leads to a 

 battle. The males eye one another from a distance, raising and 

 lowering the forepart of the body repeatedly at a slow rate. One 

 then approaches a few feet nearer to the other and rests again, 

 watching its adversary, and then after a long wait rushes up from 

 a distance of two or three feet to within a few inches of him. 

 The tail is the ofiensive weapon, and to bring it into action the 

 males take up a position paiallel to each other but head to tail. 

 Each seeks to overcome the other not by a number of strokes but 

 by a single well-directed blow, and there is much manoeuvring 

 with a view to obtaining a favourable position. Many of the 

 blows are ineffective, for the lizards dodge each other very skilfully, 

 but when a blow does get home it may be a powerful one, judging 

 by the resounding smack which follows. After a few such blows 

 one turns tail and the victor pursues him, with the result that a 

 further round may be fought out, though often the loser is simply 

 chased away. The males never are killed in their combats, and I 

 have never seen one male attempt to bite another. 



There is more tendency for the females to bite each other, and 

 one frequently sees a large female running open-mouthed at a 

 smaller one, especially if the smaller one happens to have pro- 

 truding from its mouth a morsel too large to be readily swallowed. 



Both males and females will bite when cornered if an attempt 

 be made to handle them. 



The lizards are usually insectivorous, but when insects are 

 scarce, as in the dry season, they will not uncommonly eat vege- 

 table matter such as lettuce, tomatoes, and various indigenous fruits. 



Their voracity is remarkable. On February 12th, 1912, I 

 dropped no fewer than eighteen of the Fieri ne butterfly, Phris- 

 sura Sylvia, before a male lizard, and all were consumed within 

 ten minutes. 



I have left behind me in Nigeria a snake 10 inches long which 

 had been seized by a lizard of this species. I did not personally 

 see the incident, but on returning to camp after a short absence 

 on June 29th, I was shown the bodies of the sna.ke and lizard, and 

 was told by my colleagues that they had seen the lizard walking 

 backwards dragging the snake by its upper jaw. Still proceexling 

 backwards it began to climb a palm tree, the snake actively 

 wriggling all the time, and it reached a height of six feet. Un- 

 fortunately, at this point some barbarian instinct prompted one 

 of the men to throw a stone which injured the lizard so that 

 the snake was released and fell to the ground, where it was 

 despatched. 



