292 



THE WORLD OF ANIMAL LIFE 



All who see the chameleon are much interested by its curious 

 eyes. These are very large, and project from the head in a very 

 singular way. They are almost entirely covered with skin, and 

 the animal can only see out of a small round hole in the centre. 



But these eyes can be moved at the same time in different 

 directions! One eye perhaps is looking upwards or forwards, 

 while the other is 



looking downwards ^r ^\^ 



or backwards. Thus 

 the animal can really 

 see before and be- 

 hind it at once. 



The tongue of the 

 chameleon is very 

 curious. It is very 

 long and slender, 

 with a cup -shaped 

 tip, and is extremely 

 sticky, like that of 

 the frog or the toad. 



This tongue can 

 be darted out with 

 lightning-like speed ; and the animal takes such good aim with it, 

 that it hardly ever misses a fly or other insect which has settled 

 anywhere near it. 



The chameleon always lives in trees; and its little paws with 

 their sharp claws are very useful for climbing and grasping the 

 branches. Its tail, too, can be coiled tightly round a branch, 

 just like that of a spider-monkey or an opossum ; it forms a kind 

 of fifth hand, as it were, and is of very great assistance. 



When a chameleon is climbing about in a tree, it hardly ever 

 moves a single step until it has curled this useful little tail tightly 

 round some convenient branch, in order to make sure of a firm hold. 



It is very leisurely in its movements; indeed, the chameleon 

 is never in a hurry. If it lifts a paw into the air in order to make 

 a step forward, it will very often wait for ten minutes or a quarter 

 of an hour before putting it down again. 



Chameleon 



